Jury Duty

Well, I'll tell you I was more than a little bugged about having jury duty today. I went to Nevada to campaign for Mr. Obama back in November and I was really looking forward to the ceremony today. But I called the jury duty number last night and was told that I had to show up at the courthouse no later than 8:30 a.m. this morning.

First--I did not get chosen for a jury. And while most of me feels like "whew! I dodged *that* bullet," I also have to rhapsodize a bit about Judge Lawrence Appel. I've never seen a judge get a room of prospective jurors more interested in serving on a jury. He was cordial and friendly and respectful. I seriously would not have minded getting "stuck" on a jury.

Second--When I arrived at the Jury Room at the Alameda Superior Court, all the televisions were tuned to the inauguration.

Imagine a room filled with more than 200 people. Remember that this is a major metropolitan area. In that room there was every color, every creed, every age (well, above 18, anyway), and we all were sharing the inauguration together. We all applauded and we all laughed (and some of us, ahem, wept a little). And we all stood when Mr. Obama took the oath of office. It felt so wonderful to share this event with people I don't know, but with whom I share a democracy. Words won't serve. But I'm still glowing, after six hours of sitting through voir dire.

Yay us!