Adventures in Civic Duty
Today I had the honor of "participating" in a vital part of our American democratic process. What did I do today? Standby jury duty! Yeah, jury duty. I never imagined myself getting called for jury duty any time soon, maybe sometime when I was older and slightly wiser, etc. but nope, the state of Massachusetts decided that now was the time to call upon me to perform this sacred duty.
So this morning I woke up four hours earlier than normal and made my way to the Hampden County Court House in Springfield. Of course I left later than planned and was fifteen minutes late, but luckily I was not too late, or I would have had to come back to do my duty.
Now what does one do when called for this treasured part of our American legal system? I got a card with a number on it, validated my parking, and found one of the few available chairs with some empty ones around it in the front of the room. I read for a long time. Watched an educational video on the jury process. Listen to a judge speak. Sat around for a very long time and read some more. Was dismissed for lunch and told to return at 2.
So as I waited for the elevator with my stomach grumbling, I heard a voice say "Hello Stephanie *insert last name here*" Lo and behold it was Chris (Not Chris Chris, but Chris that I graduated with and called me Jesus for several years of my high school existence and graffiti-ed my yearbook with a picture of a Jesus completel with rocket launchers.) So Chris and I embarked for lunch together, catching up, etc. We were going to go to a deli, only to discover it to be closed. Then there was the wings and pizza place, but we decided it looked a little sketchy. Onward we ventured to come across the Red Rose, one of the few good places to eat in downtown Springfield that was not too far from the court house. It was a good lunch and it was nice to have someone to eat with, it was just funny that I ran into Chris out of all people. I had a feeling that I would run into someone I knew at jury duty. I didn't know who, I just had a feeling. And look what happened.
After lunch Chris and I went back to the court house, waited around for about forty-five minutes, and then was told to go home. So yeah. That was jury duty. I feel very American, having fulfilled my duty and the like.
So this morning I woke up four hours earlier than normal and made my way to the Hampden County Court House in Springfield. Of course I left later than planned and was fifteen minutes late, but luckily I was not too late, or I would have had to come back to do my duty.
Now what does one do when called for this treasured part of our American legal system? I got a card with a number on it, validated my parking, and found one of the few available chairs with some empty ones around it in the front of the room. I read for a long time. Watched an educational video on the jury process. Listen to a judge speak. Sat around for a very long time and read some more. Was dismissed for lunch and told to return at 2.
So as I waited for the elevator with my stomach grumbling, I heard a voice say "Hello Stephanie *insert last name here*" Lo and behold it was Chris (Not Chris Chris, but Chris that I graduated with and called me Jesus for several years of my high school existence and graffiti-ed my yearbook with a picture of a Jesus completel with rocket launchers.) So Chris and I embarked for lunch together, catching up, etc. We were going to go to a deli, only to discover it to be closed. Then there was the wings and pizza place, but we decided it looked a little sketchy. Onward we ventured to come across the Red Rose, one of the few good places to eat in downtown Springfield that was not too far from the court house. It was a good lunch and it was nice to have someone to eat with, it was just funny that I ran into Chris out of all people. I had a feeling that I would run into someone I knew at jury duty. I didn't know who, I just had a feeling. And look what happened.
After lunch Chris and I went back to the court house, waited around for about forty-five minutes, and then was told to go home. So yeah. That was jury duty. I feel very American, having fulfilled my duty and the like.