Embarrassed in court...by my Mom!
So I was sitting in court during an hour of preliminary hearings this afternoon. Most times in court I don't bring my phone, for obvious reasons. Thankfully, I always have it on vibrate - though the vibrate setting is somewhat audible. As it happens, there was a bad case up for a hearing - at a bar, a man thought this one guy hit him in the head with a beer bottle. He got the wrong guy, but his aim was dead-on, and smashed the guy into the pavement. Four months later, he's still in a coma. The family appreciated the coverage I gave, and since I usually sit behind the State's Attorney, sat right next to me.
So the responding officer is giving his testimony in a courthouse that's completely silent.
"He was lying in a pool of blood from his head wound..."
Buzz...
"...corroborating witnessses?"
Buzz...
The warden escorting the inmates looks at me, annoyed.
Thankfully, it stops. Then there's that little chime that I forgot to silence. That's audible.
Five minutes later, I'm back into my groove, and the officer is talking about how none of the witnesses would come forward, save for one out-of-towner.
Buzz...
"Did she give a physical description of the assailant?"
Buzz... Then a litle while later, the chime. Now the judge flicks his eyes in my direction. My concentration is lost, I'm so embarrassed.
By now, I'm getting worried. People know not to call me during the work day unless it's an emergency. But I can tell the testimony is wrapping up, so I hold onto it for a little while. As soon as it's over, I step outside and listen to my voicemail.
"Hi honey! Call me back - there's a big ice storm headed your way!"
The next message says much the same thing, with the added remonstration that I stay off of the roads. I sighed, tucked my phone back into my coat pocket, and vowed never to bring it into the courtroom again. Since Mom's call wasn't urgent in my point of view, I stopped by the clerk to pick up a copy of the traffic and criminal call that I missed while in preliminary hearings. While I was thanking the clerk, I felt the buzz of the phone in my pocket. As soon as I was out the courthouse door, I answered.
"Hi, Mom. What's up?"
"Sweetie! Did you know there's an ice storm headed your way?"
"Yes, Mom. I'm just a reporter who wrote up that particular story at 6 a.m. this morning, and was taking pictures of people rolling new generators out to their cars. I'm only keeping a list of all cancellations in a document on my computer, and will be staying late through the first icing tonight to get the Tuesday and Wednesday papers as done as possible in case no one else can get there."
"But what are you going to do? You know, to prepare."
Sigh.
"I was thinking of buying an extra 24-pack of Diet Coke on my way home. Maybe some peanut butter."
"Be serious!"
"I am!" (I was - it's in my fridge now)
"Well, they say it's going to be catastrophic!"
"Mom, I'm a reporter. That's what we say."
"It was NOAA that said it! They said the power could be out for weeks!"
"So? Not like I can exactly outrun it. You and I got through worse." While those adventures, especially the three days trapped on a mountain with an inch and a half of ice on the ground, have just kind of made me a bit flippant about winter weather, evidently it left some deeper marks on Mom.
I reassured her that I wouldn't be driving far tomorrow. I may not at all - work is about a half-mile away, and though that will be a miserable walk on the ice tomorrow morning, it's preferable to gliding straight into someone's house. As I hung up, the warden exited the courthouse with the three inmates in tow.
"Emergency?" he asked.
"Kind of," I replied. "Apparently, there's a bad ice storm coming." He started laughing.
So the responding officer is giving his testimony in a courthouse that's completely silent.
"He was lying in a pool of blood from his head wound..."
Buzz...
"...corroborating witnessses?"
Buzz...
The warden escorting the inmates looks at me, annoyed.
Thankfully, it stops. Then there's that little chime that I forgot to silence. That's audible.
Five minutes later, I'm back into my groove, and the officer is talking about how none of the witnesses would come forward, save for one out-of-towner.
Buzz...
"Did she give a physical description of the assailant?"
Buzz... Then a litle while later, the chime. Now the judge flicks his eyes in my direction. My concentration is lost, I'm so embarrassed.
By now, I'm getting worried. People know not to call me during the work day unless it's an emergency. But I can tell the testimony is wrapping up, so I hold onto it for a little while. As soon as it's over, I step outside and listen to my voicemail.
"Hi honey! Call me back - there's a big ice storm headed your way!"
The next message says much the same thing, with the added remonstration that I stay off of the roads. I sighed, tucked my phone back into my coat pocket, and vowed never to bring it into the courtroom again. Since Mom's call wasn't urgent in my point of view, I stopped by the clerk to pick up a copy of the traffic and criminal call that I missed while in preliminary hearings. While I was thanking the clerk, I felt the buzz of the phone in my pocket. As soon as I was out the courthouse door, I answered.
"Hi, Mom. What's up?"
"Sweetie! Did you know there's an ice storm headed your way?"
"Yes, Mom. I'm just a reporter who wrote up that particular story at 6 a.m. this morning, and was taking pictures of people rolling new generators out to their cars. I'm only keeping a list of all cancellations in a document on my computer, and will be staying late through the first icing tonight to get the Tuesday and Wednesday papers as done as possible in case no one else can get there."
"But what are you going to do? You know, to prepare."
Sigh.
"I was thinking of buying an extra 24-pack of Diet Coke on my way home. Maybe some peanut butter."
"Be serious!"
"I am!" (I was - it's in my fridge now)
"Well, they say it's going to be catastrophic!"
"Mom, I'm a reporter. That's what we say."
"It was NOAA that said it! They said the power could be out for weeks!"
"So? Not like I can exactly outrun it. You and I got through worse." While those adventures, especially the three days trapped on a mountain with an inch and a half of ice on the ground, have just kind of made me a bit flippant about winter weather, evidently it left some deeper marks on Mom.
I reassured her that I wouldn't be driving far tomorrow. I may not at all - work is about a half-mile away, and though that will be a miserable walk on the ice tomorrow morning, it's preferable to gliding straight into someone's house. As I hung up, the warden exited the courthouse with the three inmates in tow.
"Emergency?" he asked.
"Kind of," I replied. "Apparently, there's a bad ice storm coming." He started laughing.