What I did on Jury Duty
I missed today, the last day of this session, due to a summons to jury duty. I had to go to Brockton, a city, not The Big City, but a city nonetheless. I am definitely a country mouse. Luckily I didn’t get lost, and I found a place to park. The next hurdle was to send my bags through the x-ray machine. Yep. Bags. I have a horror of idle time (I can see your heads nodding out there) so I had … a few things to do. And read.
“Empty your pockets in the tray” I was instructed. Then the project bag went through the machine and “WHAT have you got in there?” the security guard asked. I cringed. “ummm, knitting…” I replied faintly. Then more faintly still “and, umm, embroidery. I can put it back in the car,” I quickly offered, not wanting to cause a fuss and remembering the last jury duty (11 years ago) when I couldn’t bring in ANY needlework at all. The trauma is still fresh.
Fortunately this guard was more compassionate. “Oh, no, wait a minute.” He pulled out the ziploc bag that the jacket project sample kit is in. “I think, wait, what’ve you got in here?” Turns out I’d left a small pair of snips inside the little ziploc. He took those, giving me a receipt to ransom them with at dismissal, and I was on my way.
What I really had in that bag was two books (one for work, one for fun) and the latest issue of Spin-Off magazine; two knitting projects, one simple, one more complicated; and the embroidery sample kit. Fortunately I’d had the foresight to swipe my daughter’s thread cutter necklace before leaving the house so I was wicked in business.
I blissfully knitted my way through the necessary paperwork and jury instructions, dutifully trooped down and up the stairs to a courtroom but was never called. I practiced doing two-color trellis stitch. I tried the knot stitch. I worked on both the knitting projects. I had so much fibery fun I should’ve been paying for the privilege. Actually, now that I think about it, the only thing I didn’t get to at all was the book for work. And now I’m off the jury duty hook for three years.
Tomorrow I’ll find out how the end of the weekend went and share, along with more pictures.
Tags: , jury duty, knitting, knot stitch, sample kit, security guard, Spin-Off, Stitches, trellis stitch, x-ray machine
May 19th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I never knew jury duty to sound so good!! Pick me! Pick me!!
May 20th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
When you wrote “fibery fun”, all I could think was “Yeah, fibre is good for you!”
Ewwww, sorry.
Glad you enjoyed the day…
May 20th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Your day sounds about like mine a week earlier. I had to go into Worcester (quite big enough for me) for jury duty. I put everything all in one bag. I ditched most of my purse except my travel project and took a smaller big project bag with me. I decided I would take things that only took one thread so I could leave my trolley needle behind. I took blunt kids scissors and they didn’t say a thing about them; I had my backup needle threader/cutter just in case.
I also had a book (I decided against taking two), my iPod, two magazines, and two newsletters. Then I grabbed the Nintendo DS just in case! (Think I have a fear of sitting and being bored? After waiting for a friend’s mom in the emergency room for hours I never go anywhere with at least one thing to stitch and I think I have 3 projects in my purse right now. 
)
I stitched through our intro movie. Got called to a courtroom, and when I realized they were calling people by number to individually talk to the judge and I was number 55 of group 1-57, I got the stitching back out again.
Back to the jury room and more waiting. I listened to my book and stitched until they sent us home.
Somehow my boss thinks I had a worse day than others and that I was glad to be back at work. I’d take that kind of day off any time!
Robbin