Monday Moments of Gratitude {The Jury Duty Edition!}

How is it Monday already!  It's feeling like a two cup of coffee kinda day already!!  After a busy weekend, this always seems to hold true for me!

Today I am linking up with Shaunacey for her Monday Moments of Gratitude post.   And today my post is dedicated to the strangers who helped me out when I really needed it.

Here's the story...

Last Wednesday I had Jury Duty!  YUCK!  Maybe I should go back a ways.

A few weeks ago I got the Jury Summons in the mail...and never really did anything with it.  I couldn't quite believe that seven years had past since I got my last one. I never had to go  that time because I had a high number and the jury was picked I guess before my number was up.

This time I probably could have postponed it too, but I just kind of forgot about it, as is the case with a lot of my mail.  HA!  So last Friday I went on line to see if I had to report for Tuesday.  Luckily, I didn't.  Based on what i saw on Friday I calculated that if I had to go it would be on Friday!  So when I had to look online again, I was kinda nonchalant about it and looked at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.  (Because of the Columbus Day Holiday, you were not required to call or go online on Monday to check).

Well clearly my calculations were grossly underestimated!!  On Friday when I looked, they had 200 jurors going to one court.  Tuesday night I saw about a thousand jurors going to three different courts on Wednesday, which meant I was going!!!

EEEEEKKKKK!!


Why Kate...Why had you been so stupid in thinking you weren't going to be called?!? I checked it at 7 on Tuesday, and was on a train to the courthouse by 8 the next day.  If I had checked it at 5 p.m. that night, like they recommend, I could have had sub plans and everything ready at school the next day!  I was there for after care until 6.  I could have spent all the time getting ready!! Instead, I was a nervous wreck and woke up in a panic at 1:40 a.m., never to get back to sleep!!

So how does one without a license get to court? 

All along I had planned to Uber it to the courthouse in the morning.  But then I saw it was $70 bucks (yikes!), so my sister graciously agreed to pick me up and drive me to the train.  I live in walking distance to a train, but it is not on the same line as the courthouse, so I needed a pick-up!  But I'll be honest, the ride out east on the train was so pleasant.  It was like me and four other people,  (no one really heads east in the morning, most people are heading into the city!).  I saw horses, water, the changes colors of the leaves on the trees!  it was a nice ride.

After getting dumped at the station, I had to figure out a way to get to the courthouse, four minutes away.  I had planned to take a taxi, which there were a ton of, but they ALL seemed to be being worked on a fixed...which was a little sketchy.  And I for sure didn't want to get in a cab that someone was just dumping gas in...what if it blew up!?!

I was walking back and forth and decided to stop by the least sketchy looking man at the station to use my phone nad call for a legit taxi.  He asked me if I was waiting for someone.  I told him I was calling for a cab.  He said I should try uber...it would be cheaper.  I told him I knew that but didn't have far to go.  He asked me where is was going, and looked it up on his phone.  It was three minutes away.  I said I was going to try and walk.  He offered to take me.  Ordinarily, I don't get into white vans with no windows with strangers, but this was a legit work van, this guy looked really familiar to me and was super nice , so I thought...why not?  I had my guard up the whole time, but we chatted on the ride and he even gave me his number in case I needed a ride back.  Because in his words, when he was at Jury duty not too long ago, he was excused within the hour.


That was not to be my luck.  My luck was me sitting doing nothing from 9:30 to 3 p.m.!!!!!!!!!!  AWFUL!  We were warned though, by a court officer, that the judge we were assigned to was not one who was on the quick side.  She said not to expect to be out before 2.  So when we were called up to the courtroom at 12:15 we were pretty pumped.

They called us up at 12:15, but getting 150 up in two very small elevators takes a while!  (I was wondering where the other 200 people that were called to this courthouse were.  I thought if you didn't go, it was a fine and jail time.  I guess that's a lie!! )  After standing outside the courtroom for another 15 minutes, they finally let us in.  Just to have us sit down and then say, "Go have lunch....See you back here at 2"  WHAT THE WHAT?!?  So I had another hour and half to wait.  I ate something, read a little and ran into me sister's friend, who was there for Grand Jury Duty, which there is no getting out of, for 30 days!!

Finally at 20 after two we were called back to the courtroom, stood, outside the doors until 3 o'clock, when we were let in and sworn in.  It was very interesting to hear the facts of the case.  I could have raised my hand and pleaded my case to be let go a few times, but I wanted to hear more.  HA!  Finally when the judge said" Do you have  hearing problems, seeing problems, or is English your second language", I raised me hand!  He called on my and I told him my story.

"I don't have any of those issues but I have CP and I don't drive, so the likelihood of me getting to the trail everyday is slim to none!  Then he said, you'll be relying on rides, I said, yes, and when he asked how I got there today I answered planes, trains, automobiles, everything you can imagine, the court house laughed. I was excused!!  Woo Hoo!!  At 3:45 I was let go!


That's the funny thing, when you tell a courtroom of people you don't drive, the kindness of strangers abound.  Another woman who was let go shortly after,  was driving around to try and find me and offered me a ride to the train.  I had already called a cab, but I was able to cancel it.  And, since  I knew I was going to miss the train home I came on, so I asked her if there was any way she could get me to a  station on my line!!  She said that was no problem as she was going further out east, so It totally worked. We had a great chat on the way to the train.  I learned about her, her family and where she lived.  She was a sweetheart of a woman!

After I got to the train I was home in 15 minutes!  That was a total score.  And on the way home, I found out that a spot opened up at a library event in town that I had put my name on.  After my busy day, I wasn't at all going to go, but since I got home sooner that I expected and they called and said there was space available, I went.  I mean how could I miss a free beer and cheese tasting event sponsored by two of my favorite places...the library and my local cheese shop!?!  HA!!

So the day ended on a high note. And even though I expressed my thanks to them, those kind strangers who helped me out last week will never quite understand what that meant to me!!

 After hearing the horrific crimes of a really, really bad man that day, I was reminded that good people....great people...are still out there in this world, and that GOOD will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, outweigh the bad!!


Have a happy Monday!  I'll be spending this week paying it forward.