MOTHER&*@%*#^
This weekend, we hosted the 14U Summer Baseball Bash Tournament.
I won't go into all the drama that inevitably accompanies this type of endeavor, because all in all, it was a great success.
Our boys took second place, which is pretty darned good. I thought they might go all the way and win our own tournament, but they had to go up against some Fannin County boys who were just really, really excellent ball players. And, they were BIG to boot.
But really, if we had to lose to someone, I'm glad it was them. They were the nicest team people we encountered all weekend. The parents were friendly and easy going and the boys were good sports as well as being respectful and well behaved.
Fannin County Longhorns, please know you are welcome at Adams Park any time.
That said...we are all EXHAUSTED. Running a tournament is a lot of work and we were all on our feet for 10-12 hours a day for 4 days running.
Last night, after cleaning the concession stand, grooming the fields, cleaning the restrooms (ew), and loading coolers, chairs, canopies, leftover concession food and baseball gear into the van, we got home around 10 p.m.
My feet hurt. My back hurt. My hips hurt. My shoulders hurt.
I slipped into a steaming hot tub with nothing short of complete and total relief.
I was juuuuuuuuuuuuuust starting to relax, when Husband knocked on the door and said...
"Uhhh, baby? Don't you have jury duty tomorrow?"
And that's when I said many and varied bad words.
That's what I get for registering to vote.
You've got to understand that we have not been home except to sleep in FOUR days. The house is a wreck, there is no food, the laundry is piled to the ceiling and the litter boxes are a certifiable biohazard.
I had planned to do some clean-up and laundry this morning, and then take my boys, who are also exhausted, to the pool for some much needed R&R this afternoon.
Scratch that.
So I went to jury duty this morning. I've never done it before, but it honestly wasn't that bad. I did mistakenly go to Superior Court instead of State Court, (I misplaced my summons, which was color coded for that purpose) which caused me a little anxiety. But luckily the State Court building was right across the street, so no real problem.
The process has been pretty refined to make it as painless as possible and every amenity has been provided for the jury pool. The people were friendly, and the judge seemed sincerely grateful for the service we were providing.
Jurors can even surf the net while they wait to see if they will serve on a trial jury that day.
Today I was dismissed by 10:30 because the case to which my panel was assigned settled without a trial. I'm guessing it was a car accident case, because we were all asked if we were employees, administrators, or policy holders of a particular auto insurance company.
But the thing is...I have to serve all week, possibly on more than one trial. I have to call in each evening to find out if I am to appear the following morning. And, I may be told to come in, only to be dismissed at a later time if the parties involved accept a plea or otherwise reach an agreement that would negate the need for a jury.
What a pain in the ass.
Yes, yes, I know...a fair trial by a jury of my peers is a privilege and a civil liberty that many people in this world do not enjoy. I also know that I might need to avail myself of juris prudence some day, so I should serve my civic duty without complaint.
Nevertheless, last night at eleven p.m., I was on the internet looking up the penalty for not appearing for jury duty in the state of Georgia. I was honestly, at that point, quite willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for the privilege of sleeping in this morning.
As it happens, if one does not appear for jury duty, one will be collected and shown to the courtroom by an armed escort, not to mention, fined and jailed.
Not something I really want my kids to see, I suppose. And, I don't relish the thought of appearing in court in my bathrobe and slippers.
So I went. And I will go tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. And the day after that.
SIGH.
Due process. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
I won't go into all the drama that inevitably accompanies this type of endeavor, because all in all, it was a great success.
Our boys took second place, which is pretty darned good. I thought they might go all the way and win our own tournament, but they had to go up against some Fannin County boys who were just really, really excellent ball players. And, they were BIG to boot.
But really, if we had to lose to someone, I'm glad it was them. They were the nicest team people we encountered all weekend. The parents were friendly and easy going and the boys were good sports as well as being respectful and well behaved.
Fannin County Longhorns, please know you are welcome at Adams Park any time.
That said...we are all EXHAUSTED. Running a tournament is a lot of work and we were all on our feet for 10-12 hours a day for 4 days running.
Last night, after cleaning the concession stand, grooming the fields, cleaning the restrooms (ew), and loading coolers, chairs, canopies, leftover concession food and baseball gear into the van, we got home around 10 p.m.
My feet hurt. My back hurt. My hips hurt. My shoulders hurt.
I slipped into a steaming hot tub with nothing short of complete and total relief.
I was juuuuuuuuuuuuuust starting to relax, when Husband knocked on the door and said...
"Uhhh, baby? Don't you have jury duty tomorrow?"
And that's when I said many and varied bad words.
That's what I get for registering to vote.
You've got to understand that we have not been home except to sleep in FOUR days. The house is a wreck, there is no food, the laundry is piled to the ceiling and the litter boxes are a certifiable biohazard.
I had planned to do some clean-up and laundry this morning, and then take my boys, who are also exhausted, to the pool for some much needed R&R this afternoon.
Scratch that.
So I went to jury duty this morning. I've never done it before, but it honestly wasn't that bad. I did mistakenly go to Superior Court instead of State Court, (I misplaced my summons, which was color coded for that purpose) which caused me a little anxiety. But luckily the State Court building was right across the street, so no real problem.
The process has been pretty refined to make it as painless as possible and every amenity has been provided for the jury pool. The people were friendly, and the judge seemed sincerely grateful for the service we were providing.
Jurors can even surf the net while they wait to see if they will serve on a trial jury that day.
Today I was dismissed by 10:30 because the case to which my panel was assigned settled without a trial. I'm guessing it was a car accident case, because we were all asked if we were employees, administrators, or policy holders of a particular auto insurance company.
But the thing is...I have to serve all week, possibly on more than one trial. I have to call in each evening to find out if I am to appear the following morning. And, I may be told to come in, only to be dismissed at a later time if the parties involved accept a plea or otherwise reach an agreement that would negate the need for a jury.
What a pain in the ass.
Yes, yes, I know...a fair trial by a jury of my peers is a privilege and a civil liberty that many people in this world do not enjoy. I also know that I might need to avail myself of juris prudence some day, so I should serve my civic duty without complaint.
Nevertheless, last night at eleven p.m., I was on the internet looking up the penalty for not appearing for jury duty in the state of Georgia. I was honestly, at that point, quite willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for the privilege of sleeping in this morning.
As it happens, if one does not appear for jury duty, one will be collected and shown to the courtroom by an armed escort, not to mention, fined and jailed.
Not something I really want my kids to see, I suppose. And, I don't relish the thought of appearing in court in my bathrobe and slippers.
So I went. And I will go tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. And the day after that.
SIGH.
Due process. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
posted by Blog Antagonist @ 10:34 AM
9 Comments:
At 12:16 PM,
Tania said…
Avoiding jury duty is one of the few things that being hearing impaired is good for. Yay for my lousy ears!
At 2:07 PM,
Amy Y said…
I always thought it'd be fun to be on jury duty... But the one time I got called, I was dismissed before they even started jury selection. I begrudgingly went back to work.
Here, though, you don't have to be on call for a whole week ~ that's pretty crappy if you ask me!
Hopefully if you do get picked, you get a nice juicy case that we can hear about later :)
At 2:53 PM,
sltbee69 said…
I just last month had to go perform my civic duty as a juror. By the 2nd day, I was selected as a juror on 6 Coroner's Inquest trials. By 2:30 of the 3rd day, I was done, and released. It can be a pain in the butt but at the time, it was better than going to work. Hopefully you have to keep reporting and you can get some work done around the house and relax a little.
At 8:00 PM,
flutter said…
they make the process such a royal pain in the ass that it is no small wonder that we have crap juries. No one else wants to go
At 8:18 PM,
Middle Girl said…
My mother, who hadn't been called in many, many years and who will be permanently exempt on her 70th birthday (in two years) was called recently, for stand-by. (Like you, calling in the night before. However, unlike you, once and out. "On call?" OMGosh) Anyway, my mom can't do spur of the moment. She needs days, weeks to prepare, not the mention physical abilities.
She was able to be excused due to medical reasons, but it wasn't a snap.
A friend recently was called for the county and not three weeks later called for the feds, again after not being called for years and years.
I'd sooner pick at my eyelashes with saftey pin. ;)
Congrats on getting through the tournament.
At 8:50 PM,
the new girl said…
I have never, ever been called for jury duty, don't ask me why.
And now I'm knocking on some wood, in case I just jinxed myself.
At 9:04 PM,
SUEB0B said…
I actually don't mind. Price of freedom etc. Plus the wireless and a laptop make it all good.
Here we only have to serve one day unless you get empaneled.
At 10:00 PM,
Sharon Matherson said…
It's actually not too bad if you manage to get selected for a good, juicy case. I served in Fulton Co. at the ripe age of 18 and heard a wrongful death case. Much better than waiting around to be called....
Oh, and if you really want out of it, you might mention that you're a "journalist." There was an AJC reporter in my pool, and she was quickly dismissed. Blogging is journalism, isn't it?
At 1:20 PM,
Mad said…
I think there's the making of a great movie in this: boys triumph (almost) at little league tourny while mother sends vile criminal to jail for life. Hollywood has yet to make a combo sports-jury movie. I think it would fly.
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