美国国家公共电台 NPR O'Connor, Rehnquist And A Supreme Marriage Proposal

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some secrets are so well-kept that even family members don't know them. So it is with the story of two Supreme¹ Court justices and a proposal of marriage. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg has the story.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE²: When 19-year-old Sandra Day entered Stanford Law School in 1949, her frequent seatmate was 26-year-old Bill Rehnquist. The two were soon dating regularly, but by December of their second year, she broke up with him, while somehow retaining what she called their study buddy³ friendship. By 1952, Sandra, the only woman in her class, was dating another Stanford student, John O'Connor, and she was smitten⁴. But in March, she got a letter from Rehnquist, who had graduated early and was in Washington, D.C. He wanted to see her to talk about, quote, "important things. To be specific, Sandy, will you marry me this summer?"

The future chief justice of the United States was proposing to the woman who, years later, would become the first woman to serve on the nation's highest court. The proposal is disclosed in a new book, called "First," by author Evan Thomas, to be published in March. Sandra Day would marry John O'Connor, becoming Sandra Day O'Connor in 1952. As for Rehnquist, not long after Sandra said no, he would start dating Nan Cornell, the woman he would marry in 1953.

According to author Thomas, Rehnquist would tell a friend shortly before his death that Nan, who died 14 years earlier, was the only woman he ever loved. It appears that even the Rehnquist and O'Connor children did not know about the marriage proposal. O'Connor's son, Jay, says he and his siblings⁵ were surprised by the news. Though, as Jay observes, dating in the 1950s was pretty innocent.

JAY O'CONNOR: Multiple men proposed to my mom when she was in college and law school, and ultimately my dad was the one who was the real deal.

TOTENBERG: Most remarkable⁶ was that O'Connor and Rehnquist remained close personal friends forever. They both ended up living in Phoenix⁷, socialized together often and stayed in touch even after Rehnquist's appointment to the court. Indeed, he was said to have suggested O'Connor's name to President Reagan for a potential appointment to the court in 1981. Jay O'Connor.

O'CONNOR: It was just an amazing accident of history that my mom and her friend and law school classmate ended up on the Supreme Court together. Not only did they have a wonderful working relationship for over 25 years on the court, they had a wonderful friendship their entire life.

TOTENBERG: Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

4 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。