I doubt Nino Scalia he ever caught my name. I jogged with him twice on Mall in fall of 1987. An inadvertent meetup one day on the Mall “track” and we did it once more. He was quasi-athletic. Short. And really into it. In moxie terms an Italian Bobby Kennedy. I pictured him in his youth as a football offensive lineman center/guard. Fast and powerful for first 40 yards.
As a lawyer and judge, Scalia was brilliant, a fighter and a larger than life human being who I agreed with only occasionally on things cultural or political. But I liked and admired him 30 years ago–and I do now. Whether he used it all the time or not–he certainly did 95% of the time–he had the best legal mind on SCOTUS in my lifetime.
And his life? It was a piece of art.
I’m encouraged that people across the spectrum are starting to calm down after the first 48-hour period of shameful spastics and show some grace. Hope that keeps up. This was a great man.