Rant #2,923 (I Wanna) Testify

Good morning to you.
 
My allergies have reverted back to making me a mess, I can barely see out of my left eye, but otherwise, I am doing just fine.
 
The Yankees won again, which certainly makes me feel good.
 
But what makes me feel even better is that my wife is now officially off jury duty.
 
She was excused late yesterday morning, and now, the world is right again.
 
She called in on this past Friday to find out if she would have to go, and yes, she did, but at least she got a break with Juneteenth, and didn’t have to appear until Tuesday morning.
 
So she went the first day, sat around for a few hours, and was dismissed, but with the caveat that she would have to come back again on Wednesday.
 
She did, she sat some more, and she conquered, as she was finally dismissed for good in late morning.
 
Jury duty is an obligation that we, as American citizens, must fulfill when we are called to serve, but why is it so obnoxious, or at least we consider it to be?
 
I guess because we don’t like to be forced or ordered to do anything, and jury duty is thrust upon us.
 
It always comes at the wrong time, and it is just so inconvenient.
 
But it is an obligation of being a citizen in this great country that people go to trial and are judged by a jury of their supposed peers, so we have to serve.
 
The pandemic actually made things that much worse, because while the courts could not convene as they normally would, and thus, juries were not needed, right now, there is such a backlog of cases that need juries that there is a rush to fill jury spots, so yes, my wife was darn lucky she got out of there without being placed on a jury.
 
Here’s what I wrote way back in Rant #1,311, (October 28, 2014) about my own jury duty trials and tribulations at the time, which were not pretty:
 
“I have been granted jury duty by the State of New York.
 
My jury duty begins in about three weeks, in mid-to late November. I just got the notice the other day.
 
I am looking forward to this experience as much as I am looking forward to contracting Ebola.
 
The last time I had jury duty, nearly three years ago, I almost got fired from my job.
 
I haven't forgotten that escapade.
 
This time, I am not in the district court, but the local court, which should make matters better.
 
And right now, I am only a phone juror, although I will bet that I get called to serve anyway.
 
Let me tell you right out that I have no problem serving at all.
 
It is my civic duty to do so, and I really believe that if one is called, one should serve.
 
My problem is with my place of work. They do not take kindly to such civic service.
 
We are a small place of business, with only a few dozen employees, so the thinking is that if one is out on jury duty, we are missing a major cog, and the company will be held up in whatever it is doing.
 
They only will pay me for three days of jury duty, and I will be damned if I am going to be using my own sick and personal days--of which we have so few per year--so that I can serve.
 
So I have to go in there, and if chosen, I have to tell them that I cannot serve because of financial considerations.
 
I used to be able to go in there and yell "child support," and I would get off the hook immediately, but I can't use that ruse anymore, as my daughter now is 26, and I don't support her anymore.
 
The last time this happened, in district court, I tried to weasel out of my civic duty, but it really took all of my inner fortitude to do so.
 
I was chosen for a jury, and I begged to be let off. My place of work was not amused, and the old man who owned the place, who has now passed on, actually threatened to fire me.
 
Which, of course, is against the law, and he was told so by others in the company.
 
It is not as easy to get off jury duty as it used to be, and through my own maneuverings with that court, I was finally able to get off after three days of serving.
 
It wasn't pretty, and I do not want to go through that episode again if I can help it.
 
So I am simply hoping that I am not needed, and that I am excused over the phone.
 
If not, I will have to go there, plead a financial hardship, and try to get off of jury duty.
 
It will not be easy, and it goes against every moral grain in my body to do so, but as you can see, I really do not have a choice.
 
I want to serve, but I cannot.
 
Simple as that.”
 
Well, yes, I did ultimately have to go to the court, but I was excused ... but my then place of business’ attitude toward the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth that still stings to this day.
 
Anyway, I am just so happy that my wife has been excused, and she doesn’t have to worry about this for several years.
 
I just want to testify to that.
 
I rest my case.