Jury Duty

So here I am sitting in the Oklahoma County Court House this Monday morning. This is my call to duty as a juror. I find myself in a large courtroom situated on the fifth floor of this historic down town building. All four hundred of us packed side by side as we listen to courtroom roll calls summoning us to another room for service. Each roll call thins the population in this room where I find myself seated in the far back left side. At the front right a television is playing, The Price is Right, while just in front of the judges stand a table is situated and set up with the game of dominos. Four jurors are passing their time there as if this were some sort of a game room. Seriously. But then again, why not? It may be a better way of passing the time than the books I have stashed in my bag in hopes of finally catching up on them. The unexpected sound of the dotted blocks clanging from the player’s hands to the table beneath them and an occasional ding of one dropping to the floor, breaks the low murmur of whispers. The muffled voices of jurors making small talk with one another and the slightly louder voices of an occasional question asked to a court clerk envelops the room in an almost hum.

My summons to jury duty arrived in the mail about a week before Katrina’s wedding. After glancing at it I set it aside to be forgotten until one day last week. I figured getting out of my duty might be easy due to Susan's dependence on me for her care and safety! But my son encouraged me to sit on a jury and be the one who really looks at both sides. I wanted to. The thought of finding some justice for someone out there in my community appealed to me. That is, until my caretaker substitutes fell through after it was too late to be properly withdrawn. Consequently, my attempt to do the right thing has put the entire family on the spot. Going to serve has forced someone else to come and serve. Everybody has better things they’d like to be doing. So do I.

So, I left the house before daylight this morning, leaving Susan soundly asleep and secured behind the grotto doors on her side of the house. After cancelling today’s shower, I left her prepared oatmeal in the microwave and the coffee in her pot ready for someone to flip the switch on. Kiara will head over later this morning to be with Susan. Caring for an Alzheimer’s person really does take teamwork if it is going to work out without totally robbing one person of their life and energy. Problem is, it is looking like this jury duty deal might go on for days.

The price may be right here in the court today. I hope so. But more often than not these days I find myself wondering if the price ever really is right. Is the price really right for my family? What about for Susan? And what about for so many walking these halls and sitting in these court hearings on this day- or the next?