The Joys of Jury Duty

Many of you might remember my own foray into jury duty awhile back. It was boring but I managed to fill the endless hours with books, conversation and a stint on one civil case. A week of my life gone.

Now it's Zilla's turn. And I have to admit that I've been laughing behind my hand the whole time. Zilla is not the type of man who sits still. He is in constant motion and if he isn't in motion he's not happy. Idle hours irritate the hell out of him. Therefore, he has not been a happy camper. The first day he sat in the jury lounge until 4PM...doing nothing. The second day he sat there until 1:45...doing nothing. The fact that they've kept him hanging around twiddling his thumbs while he could have been doing something is driving him INSANE. Soooo funny.

I warned him. I told him to bring copious amounts of things to occupy himself with. I suggested snacks and juice boxes. He countered with a six pack and a pillow. I promised him the security guards would at least confiscate the beer on his way in. I think he settled for his phone and a book. Yeah, that's gonna hold him for an entire week.

As I'm writing this, he has several days to go. I'm taking bets on when he blows his top...and whether it results in a trip to criminal court of his own. I'm honestly not sure who I'm rooting for. Zilla all spun up is kinda fun to watch. It doesn't happen often and as long as you're not the object of his derision...

Zilla has promised me that if he ever receives another summons to appear for jury duty he will do whatever it takes to get out of it, including breaking bones. The thing is, I know he means it.

Have you ever had jury duty? Did their inefficiency drive you insane? Did you enjoy the process?

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Win A $50 Amazon Gift Card!!!

The Playfriends are celebrating the new look of our website for 2010 by giving out a big prize this week – a $50 gift card to Amazon.com . The catch? You must answer a question from each day about the website to be entered to win – that’s 5 answers. Check out the blog each day of this week and answer the question found at the bottom of the blog post by sending the answer to webmaster@writingplayground.com. Additional entries may be earned by reporting any broken links you find on the website to the same email address. The winner will be announced on Saturday, so be sure to check in then too. If the prize is not claimed within 7 days, we’ll be awarding it to someone else who answered the questions. Okay?

Thursday's question: From The School page, what was the article in August 09?

We'd also love to hear any feedback you have from your cruising on our new site. Thanks and Good Luck!

Speed Demon

So, anyone who knows me will vouch for me when I say I'm a speed demon. Always have been, always will be. There was that brief two or three month period after I got a speeding ticket when I slowed down but...that didn't last long.

On the other hand, 'Zilla drives like my eighty year old grandma. And it drives me bonkers! I have to distract myself whenever we go somewhere or the fact that it takes us almost twice as long to arrive as it would if I were driving would make my brain explode.

So I thought it was rather hilarious when 'Zilla was stopped by a cop on the way home two days ago. Now, as I've mentioned before, we live out in the county. On a long road where everyone drives at least fifty - if not sixty - miles an hour. The speed limit is forty. However, if you drive forty you're going to piss off a lot of people because there's no place to pass for miles and traffic backs up rather quickly. 'Zilla drives that road at thirty-five - five miles below the speed limit at all times is his motto. Luckily for everyone else who lives around us, he tends to be on the road at odd hours of the day.

When he called me to tell me he'd been pulled over I laughed. I thought he was kidding. I asked him what in God's name the cop could have pulled him over for cause it sure as heck wasn't speeding. In fact, it was for driving too slow. And then I laughed harder.

Apparently, after all the niceties, the cop told him he'd been driving too slow and proceeded to ask if he'd been drinking or doing drugs. The cop kept him for ten minutes - I'm assuming to assess whether or not he was lying when he told the cop no but what do I know? He finally let 'Zilla go when he asked for the officer's supervisor's name.

I honestly don't mind the officer doing his job, but there was really no reason to keep him for ten minutes. I'm fairly certain it was obvious he wasn't driving impaired after about two...of course, then he started losing his temper and I don't think that helped 'Zilla's cause any. I, on the other hand, pass a cop on that same stretch of road at least once a week. And we all know I fly. I simply do the country wave (one index finger off the wheel in greeting) and never even tap the brakes. I know they aren't going to pull me over. They're flying just as fast as I am in the opposite direction. See, if 'Zilla had been following along with everyone else this never would have happened.

Any interesting run-ins with the law you'd like to share? Mine have all been tame and involve traffic violations. Oh, except for that hour I spent in the drunk tank. But that really doesn't count since it was for law club. I will say I learned one thing though - the food sucks.

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