Friday, 3/1

Well, this could make things interesting.

As most of you know, I'm going to Germany at the end of April. And as most of you know, I have to do all kinds of work ahead of my trip to Germany to be able to leave. Well, I received a letter in the mail yesterday from the fine folks at the 96^th District Court in Marquette informing me that my presence is requested for five Tuesdays in April for jury duty.

Uh-huh.

I won't even be here for two of those Tuesdays, something I'm already working on with the court. And as for the other three Tuesdays; well, I'll willing to do them. After all, jury duty is one of the prices we pay for living in a participatory democracy. And I know that if I were ever accused of a crime, I’d want a jury of my peers to judge me, and not have some official with an agenda or some military tribunal do the job. But open-ended jury duty during the three weeks when I'm already working feverishly to get ready to head over to another continent?

Sigh.

This is the same kind of set-up I had to deal with a few Decembers ago, when I was given six dates in and around the holidays and told to be ready to hear a case. Thankfully, five of the six were canceled, and the other was shut down just as I got to the court house. But that was a month of heck, pardon my French. I had to work ahead at night and on the weekends just in case I was called, and then when I wasn't called I spent too much time bemoaning all that wasted time. I'm hoping that because I'm already working ahead that my schedule won't get so screwed up, just as I'm hoping that there won't actually BE a case on any of those Tuesdays and I can just keep getting ready for Germany.

Like I said, I'm not opposed to jury duty. But to be called one year during the holidays and then again as I'm getting ready to go to another country? Well, the timing could be better.

Yes, I know. When you consider that millions of people have put themselves in harm’s way over the past 240+ years so that I actually have the privilege of sitting on a jury, something you can’t do in so many countries across the globe, my little bout of whining seems, well, little. And I realize that there’s never a “good” time fur jury duty. It’s just something you need to do, a little act that allows you to play a small part in the big experiment of democracy.

But still. If you would, keep your fingers crossed that there won't be court cases on April 2^nd, 9^th, or the 16^th. Or, if there are, that they cause minimum disruption. I'd appreciate it.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)