I had to miss a day of appointments today, but this time I scheduled it.
I had agreed to do my civic duty and show up to be a member of a jury. When I got there I found out I was in Superior Court and all trials would last from three days to weeks. I got sent to a room with about 100 other folks to be selected for the jury of what turned out to be a murder trial. It was a case I had read about and if I didn't have work and have one bad eye I think it would have been quite interested in witnessing how the drama played out.
They took so long to question each potential juror they didn't even get to me. I told them that I couldn't serve because my eye was busted and I have to go to the doctor next week, but I have to tell it to the judge. So now, I have to go back tomorrow morning and try and beg off.
It was interesting to watch my fellow citizens sit around for five hours. What has changed most since the last time I had to go was that fewer people read a newspaper and more play video games, either on their phones or on little hand-held gamers. Most people just seem to stare out into space. The only people who were talking were guys hitting on the more attractive women, although that changed in the later hours and more people just began to talk about how everyone was just sitting around.
The lack of newspaper knowledge was evident again wen the judge opened the meeting with some general information. Of the one-hundred people there I was one of two people who had heard anything about the case.
The most striking thing to me was just how people can just zone out. Everyone seemed relaxed and friendly, and vaguely interested at what was going to happen. But they also seemed to enjoy having a forced break in their hectic lives. They could take advantage of the time and do nothing, nothing at all.
I can never just sit. I read an entire New Yorker, especially about how conservative and privileged Chief Justice Roberts is (at least it was court related). I guess I'm not good enough at just chillin'.
4 comments:
I can't believe no one brought a book!
It's the same across The Pond too. It totally creeps me out to see a perfectly stone cold sober person stare into space for what appears to be hours.
Maybe I'm the weird one. Not only I can't do this, I can't sit around fiddling with a cellular either.
One of my biggest nightmares is getting caught waiting somewhere without a book.
OMG, I can't sit all day without a book to read or a good magazine. But I do enjoy talking to folks for a while, too.
I bring a book if I am going to be waiting 5 minutes, much less 5 hours. But recently in a dental office I saw about 20 people just sit there for 4 hours. I do not understand how they can do it
Post a Comment