BLOGGIN' BIN REVUE

Adventures in Leaving the House: Civic Duty Edition

I’m blessed with the ability to work out of the house, something I’ve been doing for many years. The flip side to that privilege is that during those rare times where I do leave the house, it can be kind of a shock to me.

So I was called in for jury duty last week.

It may sound freakish to you, but I’ve always wanted to serve on a jury.  Not because I have some overblown need to pass judgment on others (at least, not that I’m aware of), but simply because I watched a whole lot of “Perry Mason” as a kid.

Courtroom superhero and Ozzy Osbourne inspirer Perry Mason (left) addresses the jury. Of course, the jury's job will be much easier when someone else admits to the crime at five of.

Of course, Diane Sawyer had to blow it for me during my first hour there… but I’ll save that for an upcoming entry.

Here’s how my world works: Because I’m one of the few people who actually wanted to do jury duty, it took nearly 20 years for the government to call me in.  And I assumed that I wouldn’t be picked, especially since they were only looking to fill one jury that day. 

Sure enough, out of the first 14 people questioned by the attorneys, seven were picked.  And then lunch.  And then the fire alarm goes off, stretching things out for an additional hour.  And then another three are chosen.  And then three more.

The judge is clearly annoyed that the attorneys couldn’t agree on one more alternate juror from the last batch.  “Fine,” he says, exasperated.  “Just call up another six, and you’ll have to make due with someone from that bunch.”

Oh, I think, that’s totally gonna be me.

And it was.

*     *     *

I’m not going to say anything about the trial itself, largely because it resulted in a hung jury, so please don’t ask.  All I’ll say is that the whole experience was very interesting, and while I had a very clear and definite opinion (again, don’t ask), I can understand why it was a mistrial.

One harsh downside to jury duty is the Rip Van Winkle factor.  We had been explicitly instructed to avoid any and all news sources during the trial (it was covered daily in the local news), so when I was finally able to see what’s going on outside my front door on Friday, the whole “earthquake makes Haiti hell on earth” thing and its various after-effects was overwhelming.

Look, I know that between this blog and the Bargain Bin Review, things are all shits-n-giggles from me.  But every now and then even I have to grow up a bit, and this is one of those times.  If you haven’t already, please seriously consider giving a donation to help aid the people of Haiti.  Even $10 would help. 

And if you don’t want to use the link above, or you don’t want to donate to this fund, that’s fine.  It’s no skin off my nose.  Just know that the entire country of Haiti is in a world of hurt, and you can help.