Just Another Day at the Supreme Court

This week we meet Jane. Jane’s been kind of overlooked her whole life. A combination of mediocre looks and a rather flat personality has left Jane long buried in the middle of the wood pile. 

But she has plans, big plans, flamboyant plans, fiery plans to change all that. Jane is ready to once and for all hit the big time.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator, and author. We hear at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to

(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Jane. Jane has been kind of

(00:46):
overlooked her whole life. A combination of mediocre looks and
a rather flat personality has left Jane long buried in
the middle of the wood pile. But Jane has plans,
big plans, flamboyant plans, fiery plans to change all that.
Jane is ready to once and for all hit the

(01:09):
big time, just another day at the Supreme Court. All
her life. Plaine, Jane, Vanilla, Jane, Skinny Jane, Brainy Jane,
Jane and Smith Competent, reliable, trustworthy, but just so plain

(01:35):
never noticed, never wooed, never a single moment when the
spotlight shone on Jane and only Jane. Well, now she's
going to show them. Now, She's going to make her
mark Lincoln, in his famous address, said the world would
not remember what was said there, but it would long

(01:59):
remin remember what they did there, And so it will
be with Jane. She wants to be long remembered for
what she did here today, this morning, and to that end,
she drives her Honda CRV along Independence Avenue and parks

(02:20):
in the lot of the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, where
she works part time as a curator. From the back
of the CRV, she retrieves her American flag cape, her
uncle Sam hat, her half dozen placards, her two large

(02:42):
thermos bottles, and the small disposable bit lighter. Jane doesn't
bother to lock up the Honda before setting off along
Fourth Street at a brisk pace. All the planning and
dithering are over. Today is the day Action Day, Independence Day.

(03:06):
She turns left on East Capitol Street and a few
minutes later reaches the plaza on the west side of
the Supreme Court of the United States. It's a lovely
May morning, with pleasant tempts, a few high white clouds,
and birds singing in the nearby trees. A few other

(03:28):
protesters have already arrived and set up shop several vets
in camo jackets hold up signs demanding better care and
more benefits. A man in an old fashioned morning suit
with tails and a top hat sings America the Beautiful

(03:49):
and then demands an immediate end to capital punishment, calling
it barbaric and un American. A small group of women
voice their approval for a national abortion ban. Two college
aged men protest the decimation of the Department of Education.

(04:13):
Civil servants and tourists come and go. The tourists stop
and take photographs of the lovely old neo classical structure
faced with white marble. The protesters, too, wind up captured
on various nikons, cannons, and iPhones. Jane takes it all

(04:35):
in and after a few minutes, decides to take up
a position on the north end of the plaza, just
at the bottom of the long and imposing bronze and
marble stairway. She sets the two Thermos bottles on the
ground and pulls on her cape and her uncle sam hat.

(04:58):
Jane picked today to protest because she knows there is
an excellent chance the court will hand down a decision
regarding a woman's right to control her body, which means
the media will soon be arriving to cover the event.
It's still a little early, so Jane does not hurry.

(05:21):
She opens the one thermos and pours herself some fuel
high octane black coffee with loads of sugar. The other
thermist contains fire, which she'll use later, fuel and fire
to keep herself going. Jane finishes up her coffee and

(05:41):
holds high her first homemade placard, The Patriarchs Must Fall,
and then her second placard, The Matriarchs Must Rise. Jane
holds both placards up at the same time. She thrust
some high in the air. A few people glance Jane's way,

(06:05):
but no one pays much attention. A few print journalists arrive,
then the first camera crew, then the first network crew
with their blonde, blue eyed rock star reporter. All eyes
fall upon her and stare with awe and envy. Jane

(06:26):
sighs and props the two placards against the stairs. She
picks up two more and holds them high. Time to
set women free and time to crush male domination. Jane
waves the placards. A young female reporter crosses to Jane.

(06:47):
She takes a few pictures with her phone, then turns
the phone into a recording device and asks, what's it
all about? We are free falling into chaos, says Jane,
a bit nervous, but as always prepared, and we will
continue to fall into chaos until we destroy the patriarchs

(07:07):
and promote the matriarchs. The blonde, blue eyed rock star
reporter overhears. She crosses the plaza, motions for her cameraman
to follow. Jane props the two plecards against the stairs
and picks up her final pair, and she raises them

(07:28):
high into the sky. One reads till women hold the
reins of power, and the other reads no more sex,
no more marriage, no more babies. The blond, blue eyed
rock star reporter sizes up the scene and says to
her cameraman, let it roll, will let it roll. Let's

(07:49):
see where this goes, and Jane knows this is her moment.
Her moment has finally arrived. Who are the patriarchs you're
out to destroy? Miss miss Jane Smith? Jane enunciates perfectly.
She wants there to be no mistakes. The blonde bombshell nods.

(08:14):
Are you referring to Trump and Musk and their ilk?
Are those the patriarchs you wish to destroy? A decent
crowd has gathered. Now they follow where the rock star
reporter leads. Jane says, men have failed us. It is
time for women to rule the roost. Time for women

(08:34):
to just say no. No to sex, no to marriage,
no to babies. The crowd murmurs and draws closer, especially
the women. No to sex, repeats Jane, no to marriage,
and no to babies. The cameraman zooms in on the

(08:56):
crazy lady with the American flag cape and the oak
sam hat. Until men cowtow to women. Jane shouts for
all the world to hear, no more sex, no more marriage,
no more babies. Jane repeats the matra over and over

(09:16):
until the crowd takes up the chant. In one voice.
They shout, no more sex, no more marriage, no more babies.
Jane smiles and picks up her thermos. She screws off
the top and pours the contents over her head. The

(09:36):
liquid runs down her hair and face and onto her
arms and chest, her stomach and legs. The crowd goes
dead silent, but the camera rolls on and Jane flicks
her bic and in an instant is engulfed in flames.

(10:02):
Thanks for listening to this original audio presentation of Just
Another Day at the Supreme Court, narrated by the author.
If you enjoyed today's story, please take a few seconds
to rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast, and then
go to Thomas William Simpson dot com for additional information

(10:24):
about the author and to view his extensive canon. The
Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by Andrew Bliglisi and Josh
Kalani and is part of the Elvis Duran Podcast Network
in partnership with iHeart Productionists. Until next time, this is

(10:45):
Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller.