Lucky for me I got jury duty for April when I was gone, so I got it switched to cinco de mayo. Today I celebrated, no wait, cried, when I was selected for a 3 week jury. Except the lawyers kept saying “in a month” so I am slightly concerned. Since I am not allowed to tell you anything about the case (not even the awesome joke I told in jury selection) until after it’s over, I figured I could tell you all about taking the bus instead. The only other memories I have of taking the lovely metro system here are from middle school when my friend and I would take the bus to Seattle to meet her dad. At least I think that’s what we did. Now I know we probably weren’t going during peak commuting hours, but I would make a great guess and say that the people we saw (older ladies, crazy men) were the vast majority of bus riders at the time. But now, there is a new face to commuting. From what I can tell most people are now commuters. With companies giving their employees bus passes, parking, traffic, and gas being so ridiculous, it only makes sense. So props to everyone who uses the bus so on those rare days I want to drive to downtown there will be less traffic. But for the next couple weeks, I’m one of you. Here are some letters I composed to the bus drivers and passengers over the last two days:
Dear Tuesday PM Driver,
Please turn off the hair dryer like heat blasting everyone. It is not freezing outside, there is no snow, and we are all crammed together keeping it toasty enough. Also, you don’t need to drive off the exit at 70mph. We don’t have any desire to die.
Dear Tuesday PM Passenger Next to Me,
Please don’t freak out when I sit next to you. A. I am not scary B. There are not enough seats for everyone to have their own C. You are over the line anyway, for no reason D. I am not scary, just chill.
Dear Monday PM Passenger,
You only need to pull the stop button once, and there is no need to run up to the front half hour before your stop. I promise the kind driver will stop.
So anyway, you can see that I’m boring, and that sitting in a jury chair is totally not comfortable, and I will debrief you all in a couple weeks, or month, or whatever.
Jenna had jury duty a month or so ago….. it was fun, because she was in town every day and we could go to lunch together. She couldn’t tell me anything about her case until it was over, or of course she would have to kill me.
I am still alive.
Have fun!
No kidding, you really have JD for that long? I always thought a person went for a couple of days until accepted or rejected by the attorney for the defendant. All you have to do is put your finger down your throat and barf on the counter when you sign in. Wretch a lot after that if you want to go home.
I had JD one time and was not chosen, because I cried when being interviewed in front of the judge and the defendant. It was a molestation crime, and because I’ve had experience with it as a child, and would have hung the guy on the spot, they rejected me. Imagine that. Duh.
A couple of years ago, out of the blue, I received a form requesting info to see if I was a candidate to be on a jury. I had a long list of medical reasons I could not, and said my doctor would write a letter if need be. I never heard from them again. Strange.
If you stay for the three weeks, I am sure you will find it ultra-fascinating, and the courts would be lucky to have you.
Love ya!
So you have begun what I am still working to start…a bus riding blog. I take the blog everyday from work (we should do lunch while you’re here) downtown and I have a new adventure every time I ride. Keep an eye out for them, you just might find yourself blogged! -C
By the way Kelsey — you are it!!!
I had jury duty about a year ago and I came close to being selected for a murder case involving not one, but two murderers. It freaked me out and I had a hard time sleeping for days. I did not expect to be in a room with two murderers. I mean alleged murderers. Oh who am I kidding? They totally did it! Ew, it was creepy.
And I drove. Buses scare me. Last time I rode a bus, an ex-pimp/drug dealer kept kissing my hand.