Order in the Court

Okay, so I left you hanging regarding my jury service (they no longer call it "duty" because they would prefer you look at it as a service [positive] to the system rather than a duty [negative]). Let me say, first, that Mecklenburg County has a beautiful court building. The facilities are state of the art! At 8 a.m. I reported to the 5th floor and was signed in. The area where we signed in -- all 119 of us-- was the jury assembly room. This was the "holding" area until we were called in by groups of 30-45 to be interviewed by the court lawyers and judge. There were 3 large seating areas with 42" plasma TVs, a mezzanine with pinball machines and pool tables, and a cafe area with snack/soda machines, popcorn machine, and tables to sit at. This was the area I mostly spent my time until the group was "called to attention" when more names were chosen to be interviewed. I met a very nice young lady, Genea, and we talked and talked, played cards, went to lunch together....this really helped pass the time! There was one calling in the morning (I was not called), one at 2 pm in the afternoon (I was not called...by this time thinking I was off the hook), and then the last calling at 4 pm. Guess what....I got called! Thirty of us were lined up out in the hall and roll call was taken. Made me think I was back in school! We were then marched off to one of the courtrooms. We were all seated on bench seats in the audience section of the courtroom. The court clerk then called 12 names and they were assigned seating in the jury section. They were interviewed in front of the rest of us. The case being tried was for DUI. One by one, the selected jurors were interviewed ... were they or any of their family been arrested for DUI...was anyone in an accident caused by a DUI driver...was anyone associated with MADD or SADD....etc, etc. As individuals were eliminated, more from our seats were called to replace them. By 5:30 pm, the jury had been selected and there were 6 of us remaining on the bench seats, of which I was one of them. So, the 6 of us had fulfilled our "service" for the next 2 years (before we could be selected to serve again) and the selected jurors had to report back to court the next morning! This was fine by me because at work we were trying to get all paperwork done for end of year reporting! But I did make a friend out of it, and we plan to get together soon! All in all, it was a very interesting procedure...one that I had always wondered about and wished I had been called for.

Snow..Major Headlines

Yes, we got snow. More in some areas than others. The max just southeast of Charlotte hit, I think, about 5 inches. There has been more news on the local tv channels about the "snow storm" than about the inaugeration! Since it was such a news headliner, I just had to take a picture of the mounds of snow outside my house.

I half expected to see that the birds made a snowman out of the snow in the bird bowl when I got home this evening but, to my disappointment, they did not ! And, by the time I got home, the snow had totally diasppeared!

Winter Weather Alert!

School's
Now
Out
Wow!

Yep...all the schools are closed today because of the major news headline....SNOW!!! Yes, all 2-4 inches of it...yes, I said inches!
I'm heading out the door to go to work in this "major blizzard"!

Jury Duty

Well, I can't get out of it! About a month ago I got a Jury Summons that said to call the day before my scheduled jury service to see if I was still needed. Today was the day to call....and, yup, I've got to show up at the Mecklenburg Court House at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning....in uptown Charlotte...at the height of rush hour...to find a spot in the parking garage. I know that this probably sounds trivial, and I probably wouldn't be freaking out if I knew how to navigate around uptown Charlotte...BUT I DON'T...MUCH LESS DURING RUSH HOUR!!!!
This should be very interesting....I'll keep you posted.

Birthdays

Well, in approximately 50 minutes, it will be January 7th and the birthdays of today will have passed! For me, I'd rather forget that I just celebrated my 59th birthday. The cliche, "you're only as old as you feel" has some truth to it, because, fortunately, I am in good health and do not feel 59 at all! The best part of each birthday since 2001 is that my first-born grandchild, Emmalee, was born on my birthday! She turned 8 years old today! She was full of excitement when she called me this morning to wish me a happy birthday. She was exuberant as she recounted that she was served breakfast in bed and got to open her presents first thing this morning....Hannah Montana gifts, Taylor Swift CD, pj bottoms, jewelry, watch, etc. What a special time for an 8 year old!! I am so glad that we share the same birthday! Thank you, Andrea and Melissa for calling to wish me a happy birthday...thank you, Dan, for the email. Thank you to my friends for the birthday greetings, and to those who bestowed gifts. However, take notice that this is the last birthday I will be having....there will be no more...I refuse to turn 60 next January!!!!

Merry Christmas (past) and Happy New Year (future) 2009

Yes, I can definitely tell that Christmas is over. As Maestro and I walk through our community, there are very few Christmas lights left up on the houses. The weather today hit just about 60 degrees, so we could see more families removing Christmas lights....even my friend, Mary, started taking her decorations down today. Christmas is definitely over!! It was fun driving through not only our community, but nearby ones, to see the beautiful display of lights! Very festive...and I even got into the spirit of Christmas by putting my little country tree in the front with white lights on it! I trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wish for all a blessed, healthy, prosperous, loved New Year to you all (y'all).

I purchased a metal wire "all occasion" tree when I went to Blowing Rock a couple months ago. It's a great tree that stands approximately 36 inches tall. (I'd show you a picture of it, but for some reason, my computer does not want to read my Kodak card...bummer!) Not your typical Christmas tree, but I love it!! On each holiday, it will be adorned with proper attire. I am presently on a search for Valentine decorations for it.

Now that January is here, it seems that already the days are much longer and I can just tell that Spring is just around the corner. Why, even the forsythia bushes have started to bloom! Crazy!!