SITTING IN THE JURY POOL

YESTERDAY was interesting! After years of pregnancy and nursing, I was finally out of reasons to be excused from Jury Duty. I arrived promptly and settled in for a long day. After the orientation, I reached into my bag for the I PAD that WAS supposed to entertain me for the day. I sighed in disbelief after realizing that I had left the damn thing at home. I watched as several people left the room to try to get postponement. I decided to stick it out and perform my civic duty. The minutes and hours ticked by until finally they started reading names over the intercom.  I was under the impression that being called early was a good thing.  Usually,  I am not the one who gets lucky enough to get randomly picked for things like raffles and big screen TV’s. Thus, I assumed today would be my day. I would hear my name called, go through the questioning and make it in time for my son’s field trip. Before announcing the thirty names, the lady explained that the trial would run 30 days! Immediately, I switched gears and hoped in vain that I would not be called. Sitting in the jury assembly room for 8 hours would be much preferred than being stuck on a case for a month. Settling down for a relaxing afternoon of reading, I kept my head down and dove into FIREFLY LANE. An hour later, I had turned the last page of the book and was sobbing like a freak. My fellow jurors all stopped and stared. At 12 pm, we were dismissed for lunch. Into the sunshine I fled… in search of a restaurant to sit outside. Just as I exited the courthouse, I tripped and skidded on my knee in front of those same jurors. I was horrified and in pain. Wanting to look like a girl with direction, I typed in STARBUCKS on the (AROUND ME app) hoping that franchise restaurants would be in the same area. Three hills later, I was lost and the buildings began to take on a shabbier appearance. I began to panic! I looked up for the tip of The Disney Concert Hall and booked it in that direction. With thirty minutes left of the 90 minute lunch break, I arrived at a restaurant. Shoot, it was Patina, a fancy restaurant outside of my budget. With Husband’s voice in my head, I continued walking. I discovered a bistro of sorts with indoor seating only. Desperate, I went in and sat down- alone, in a booth ( a whole other blog post would explain this) staring at a menu of escargot. Starving, I ordered some onion soup and a chopped salad. I watched as the waiter brought a piping hot baguette to the table. I had not eaten bread in a few months as the years and loaves had been unkind.   Internally, I battled but it smelled so good. That self control vanished and I wolfed down the entire loaf.  Bloated, I returned to the holding tank with two and a half hours to go.  Almost there… my certificate of completion soon to be in my hands.  One day of service, totally manageable.  Wait, what’s that I hear?  A list of names being read. Damn, I almost made it!