No Dissent Here

RBG lives on my desk, where she nods along in agreement

The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a place of honor on the desk in my upstairs office. Her bobblehead is a companionable addition to my collection of career tschotskes, including 33 bobbleheads honoring members of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. Photo: Author’s archives

I have 33 members of the Washington Nationals baseball emporium living in the upstairs bedroom I’ve converted to, alternately, an “office,” a “writing room,” and what I routinely call my “garret.” And one professional ice hockey player — Number 90, Marcus Johansson, who played for the Washington Capitals from 2010 to 2017 before being dealt to New Jersey, Boston, and, most recently, Buffalo.

The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lives up here, too. And she nods along on my desk, every time I attempt to tap out my thoughts in essay form.

To tell you the truth, I’ve always known a lot more about Washington Nationals players and coaches than anyone else who exists in my baseball fandom world, which admittedly is not all that large. While I can’t recite statistics like a 12-year-old boy, I do know that Livan Hernandez, Number 61, played for seven MLB teams before the Nationals acquired him in 2009, and two more teams after his D.C. days before he retired in 2014. In my family, he is most famous for pitching to Atlanta Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera, who fouled the pitch into the seats high above the third-base line. I happened to be sitting near where the ball landed, and the rest, as they say, is history. No, I didn’t catch the ball. There was a brief scramble…