Doing My Civic Duty

Gonna spend the day in the downtown Portland courthouse on jury duty. I've lived here for nearly 2.5 years, so it's about time. Quite looking forward to it. Since the jury room has WiFi and they allow laptop and cell phone usage, it's already far friendlier than serving in SoCal. *crossing fingers I get seated on a jury*

Jury Service Pt 1

Finally got called onto a jury panel this morning. Sounded like an interesting case: 2-3 day criminal trial involving charges of cocaine possession. Apparently, however, someone from an earlier in the day panel had walked back into the jury assembly room and proclaimed something about the case which a half-dozen or so of the several dozen of us in the courtroom heard. (I wasn't one of 'em). Once the judge discovered this, he met behind closed doors w/the attorneys, came out, shook his head, said he hadn't dealt with this in either his several years as a judge or his quarter-century as a criminal defense attorney, and sent us all back to the jury assembly room where we were promptly dismissed for lunch. They're postponing the trial until next week or so when the chances of a tainted jury're gone.

Luckily it's a lovely Wednesday out so I walked up to the great Portland Farmer's Market for a numbly lunch, free music & dance, some good people-watching, and tasty 'n' juicy fresh local nectarines. We shall see what happens this afternoon. If I don't end up on a jury, my service will end and I'll be ineligible to return for the next two (2) years.

Crowds

Had I read aloud sometime over this past weekend at FaerieWorlds, my selection would have included this pertinent excerpt from Baudelaire's Crowds:

Crowds (1869 - Charles Baudelaire)

It is not given to every man to take a bath of multitude; enjoying a crowd is an art; and only he can relish a debauch of vitality at the expense of the human species, on whom, in his cradle, a fairy has bestowed the love of masks and masquerading, the hate of home, and the passion for roaming.

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Glad to be home now. Happy to have a whole week here at home at the Hive.