Juror #11 Update

Well, I went back to court the second day to hear closing arguments and go into jury deliberation. We were divided about 50-50 on whether or not Mr. Suspicious Mustache was guilty. It was fun to see how the defense attorney's attempts to create doubt had worked -- until we really read what the law said and it was clear that none of the issues that could cause doubt had anything to do with the decision we had to make.

For instance, he tried to make the detectives look stupid because they couldn't remember what a bunch of other cops did 9 months ago. Well, all the detectives were testifying to was that there was a gun in the house in a certain location and that the victim had called the police. There was no doubt about either of those things. The defendant didn't take the stand, so we had no reason to doubt the events as told to us by the attorneys, victim, and detectives.

The defense attorney also tried to say that maybe the victim had been attacking Mr. Mustache, but there was no evidence of that at all. Mr. Mustache simply pulled a gun on his wife in the middle of an argument and the only believable reason to do that is to scare her. That means he menaced her, and since a gun is a deadly weapon, it was a felony and he's in pretty big trouble.

So yeah, my side convinced the not-guilties to come over to our side.

The lesson is: fight fair! Don't pull guns on people.

Alternate lesson: jury duty is kind of interesting, besides it being your literal duty to serve your country and contribute to our legal system, which you might appreciate some day. [Sorry for the mini-lecture, but it was astounding what crazy extent people go to to avoid jury duty!]

One More Post About Hail

Here's a nice action shot




Our yard after the first round of hail. During the actual storms, it looked like popcorn popping all over outside.




They weren't quite golf ball size, but maybe ping pong balls




It looked pretty cool on the driveway



After the first hailstorm, Jason and I drove around the neighborhoods a few blocks away from ours. There were broken windshields everywhere. But even MORE ubiquitous were the insurance agents who flooded the neighborhood! They strode purposefully up and down driveways and sidewalks, proudly clutching their binders and clipboards, and looking around intently.

Then it started to hail again, so we hurried home to the safety of our garage, from which we watched the littler hail fall and fall. The noise! The freakishness of it all! We were so lucky that we didn't have any damage besides the poor, poor garden.

Tomato Before and After

Oh, so strong and healthy! They smelled like summer.



After the hail, I couldn't even find some of the plants. They were obliterated!

My Poor Garden

First all we had was a big plot of rock-covered ground. We had to shovel and throw and kick rock after rock out of the way. Then, the annoying weed cloth underneath dulled our knives and was very stubborn about wanting to stay in place.



Jason bought wood and cut it and nailed it to the ground with rebar or something, and we dug the whole thing with shovels and added 30 bags of compost and manure and garden soil. The soil still looked a lot like sand.



But I happily planted my 10 tomato plants and a dozen peppers (I want to make salsa this summer or fall!) and tomatillos, potatoes, strawberries, plus herbs, cucumbers, melons, corn, peas, lettuce, carrots, spinach, garlic, and onions.

And then the wind blew like it would never stop and my tomatoes and peppers were beaten into the ground, but they still might have made a comeback!

And then we were pelted with rain and small hail and then medium-sized hail and then rain and rain and wind and then a whole bunch more small hail. Only one tomato survives, and it looks incredibly sad, like I do. Wahh! I want a nice garden!!



Now I'll have to buy more tomato transplants and probably settle for Big Boy or Better Boy or whatever they sell everywhere. And I'll see if I have to reseed everything. Who knows where
any of the seeds ended up.

Book 9: A Play of Treachery

This is a mystery novel set in 1436 in France. Its star is a traveling actor who has been convinced to become a spy for England.

It's written just fine and was a great relaxation-distraction for me while we were moving. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but it just didn't grab me in the way that makes me hunt down all the books by the same author. I feel more entranced by the female doctor in Ariana Franklin's books, which take place in 12th century Europe. I guess I'm not a huge historical fiction fan, so her series pretty much fills my desire for that genre.

But if you love historical mysteries, you should check out Margaret Frazer's books. She has several that feature the actor-spy, Joliffe the Player.

I'm Juror #11

Guess what. In March, I received a jury summons in the mail. This week, I just barely remembered in time. So, I called the phone number on Tuesday night to see if I really had to go, and I did.

Then I spent literally hours waiting to find out if I would be chosen. AND I WAS!

I can't tell you about the case, but I can tell you a few things about the day and the situation.

1. Someone pushes his glasses up above his eyes when he doesn't need them for seeing. Not on top of his head, sunglasses-style. Just up above his eyebrows.

2. Someone has a suspicious mustache.

3. I could do as good a job as the lawyers, and I'm terrified of courtroom lawyering.

4. Someone keeps mispronouncing legal terms. Someone who should know better!

5. Just like law school, and like The Law in general, jury duty is a little bit interesting but mostly boring, boring, mind-numbingly boring.

I have to go back tomorrow to see what we decide. I already know what I think, but who knows what is going on in anyone else's mind?