Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Jury Duty part Deux

“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” - Thomas Jefferson

“I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system -- that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up.” - Harper Lee


So ... my DH showed up for the jury pool (for the last time) yesterday. He'd just finished serving on the jury last week for the civil case he was selected for. Yesterday, they were seating five cases (with alternates, it comes out to needing about 70 jurors) and there were only 100 people in the pool.

Odds were good he'd get chosen.

The scary part? Two cases were for three months and one was for SIX months.

He laid it all out for the judge. Explained about how his job wouldn't let him take off that long, that he was the sole-breadwinner and long cases were a hardship he couldn't afford. The judge said he'd see what he could do, but no promises.

In a good news / bad news situation, DH was seated again, but only on a case that's scheduled for three days.

Phew.

Then he's done. Hallelujah.

It's snowing. Not a ton (they predict 2" by the end of the day), but enough to make it sloppy and for stupid people to cause accidents. Of course, it's on the one day I have to go out -- art lessons. I swear, it only snows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. At least we won't miss agility (again) since it's supposed to be clear.

I'm having fun with my story. It's refreshing to actually enjoy what I'm writing for a change. I'm interspersing writing with reading, so haven't gotten tons done, but the reading I'm doing is as a writer, not a reader, so it's part of the whole "writing" gig.

Only got 230 words yesterday. But every word counts.

My local Agway has their seeds out. I almost bought some yesterday ... I'm planning my garden and, assuming the snow melts by then, will put in my "cold" crops at the end of April: peas, spinach, swiss chard. In May, I'll plant my summer stuff: cucumbers, squash, tomatoes. I might try carrots, though we don't usually have a lot of luck with them, and I'm thinking about beets (I don't actually like beets, but beet greens are good).

I'm SO ready for spring.

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You Are a Crow



You are highly intelligent and have a lot of mental strength.

You value self-reliance, and you work hard every day to improve your life.

You believe that life is magical, and you are always looking for new and exciting opportunities.

You follow your own path, and the turns you take are often unexpected and inspired.



Except that crows always make me think of "The Stand", the rest is true. I'm just not sure I like being a crow ...

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6 comments:

Angelina Rain said...

Oh, thanks for posting this. It reminded me of the Jury Duty my husband has to do TOMORROW that we both completely forgot about. Oops!

I’m with you with the spring thing. Winter is like the houseguest who hasn’t left yet. I sure hope we have an early spring. A few years ago, it was still showing in May, and I don’t want that.

I’m glad to see writing is going well for you. That’s a good idea to only write 250 words a day. I normally push myself for over 2000 but on some days I don’t have the time for that so I skip writing altogether. I know, it’s not a good idea. Now, after seeing how you write, I write as much as time allows which is about 1000 words per day.

Dru said...

Kudos on your word count.

I thought once you served on a case and after it's closed, you are let go from other cases.

You Are a Swan

You are a graceful and elegant creature. You are both powerful and vulnerable.

You have a lot of inner strength that you draw from. You aren't as fragile as you seem.

You have a strong nurturing instinct. You are especially in tune with children and animals.

You are poetic and expressive. You see beauty everywhere, and you like to share your inner world with others.


This is 90% accurate.

Have a good Tuesday.

Melissa McClone said...

Glad your hubby got a short one. I didn't think they could fire you for jury duty though. Sort of like when you get called up for military duty. But maybe that was just common sense thinking, not a law.

Have a nice day.

Maria Zannini said...

Judges are usually good about helping people out, unless the petitioner is impolite.

We are expecting snow tomorrow for a second time this month. Unbelievable!

Brandy said...

Glad to hear the judge was compassionate enough to put your husband in a short trial jury position.
WTG on your writing! You're doing so well!

I am Crow, too. And now all I can think about is The Stand-THANKS! *G* Actually, weren't crow's seen as wise birds by native americans?

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Tori Lennox said...

WTG on the writing!!!

And thank goodness your DH got a short trial!