Justice Clarence Thomas

US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is on a book tour promoting his memoir entitled, "My Grandfather's Son", which is described as a "scathing denunciation of liberal activists, Democratic senators (ouch, that will hurt his chances to ever become Chief Justice!!), and Anita Hill" via a book review by a group of Washington Post writers.

This review explains the book's title by noting that Justice Thomas' father abandoned the family and his mother was unable to care for her sons so Justice Thomas' grandfather, Myers Anderson, raised Thomas while he grew up in rural Georgia. Now I am biased about several things so this quote from the book review caught my attention since it mentioned two institutions I love - Boy Scouts and sports. The excerpt reads as follows:

"Thomas's depiction of his grandfather is of a man unsparingly tough. Anderson would let him (Thomas) play on sports teams or join the Cub Scouts."

Granted I did not grow up in rural Georgia so perhaps there were good reasons for Mr. Anderson to keep young Clarence out of these activities but setting that aside I really have to question this decision. The reason being I know of few things beyond sports that teach children discipline and how to deal with loss -- experiences that will serve them well later in life. As for the Cub/Boy Scouts the lessons I learned there such as "do a good turn daily" have stayed with me all the way to my current mid-life age.

Unfortunately Justice Thomas' book tour does not include my State of Minnesota otherwise I would be sure to attend so I could ask him about his grandfather's world view.

Enjoy your years on the bench Justice Thomas,

Todd