Whole lotta nuthin'

Yesterday (Tuesday), when I went for my first day of jury duty, I decided to keep a diary of my experiences dispensing justice for the man. Here's yesterday's entry:

9:40 a.m. Tuesday - Arrived in the jury assembly room with the other members of Group A Sections 1-5 for the first real day of jury duty. The group, so far, looks like a decent selection of "peers" except, yanno, for the fact that but for one South Asian woman, everyone is white.

Most have chosen to read the paper to kill some time. One woman is reading a book and another is working on what looks like office work. I have chosen the book route.

9:44 a.m. - The jury coordinator comes into the room and says, "Thank you for coming, but next time check our Web site before leaving home. We posted a notice at 8:15 we didn't need anyone today."

HUH? Damnit!

I checked that site at 8 a.m. and it still said I needed to show up. I then went out, caught my bus to the Metro and then rode over to the courthouse. When I mention this to the nice lady she reminds me I could also have called the jury information line to check the jury needs for that day.

I, in turn, then remind her that since cell phones are not permitted in the courthouse, and since I rode the Metro like a very good and very eco-conscious citizen, my cell phone is sitting on my dining table at home.

Her response, "What about a pay phone?" draws a bemused look from me and the guy beside me listening in on our conversation. I seriously can't remember the last time I used a pay phone, although I did touch one last weekend at Polly's when, while waiting for the gentlemen's facilities to become unoccupied, I picked up the receiver just to see if it still actually worked (it did).

How about instead you take into account that even to go the five or six miles via bus and train can take a little bit of a while (let alone driving and finding a parking space) and post your final notice about jury needs no later than 8 a.m.?

You think that might be a better idea? I do.