It's been an interesting month of jury duty as I become used to having the courthouse as my more-than-symbolic second job. I've felt disconnected from the outside world, and the news seems distant and ineffectual. In a way, it's just like before only now I'm completely focused on surviving the ordeal of facing the courtroom nearly every weekday. The case is tedious yet fascinating as it lurches towards its inevitable, though unknown, conclusion.
Once it's over, I will be afforded a fresh perspective on life and its multifaceted levels, but for now I'm yearning for a return to normalcy. I'm trying to take the disruption in stride and apply it to mounting experience, and feel certain it will be worthwhile in the long run. There have been several almost fun events, like a field trip on a chartered bus and witnessing the construction right before our eyes of display models that illustrate the points the attorneys are trying to make.
I have a front row seat and it's better than reality TV (of course, almost anything is). I appreciate courtroom dramas in movies and television more now, with Perry Mason at the top of my list. It's amazing how many trial scenes pop up when I least expect it. For instance, I just saw the famous (though I hadn't heard of it) court scene in a BBC production of Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. It's either very cosmic that I'm seeing this right now, or I'm just noticing these things more.
I'm learning all I can from the real-life proceedings, with the hope that perhaps my future will benefit from exposure to this other world. The courthouse is a microcosm of every layer of society from the common criminal to the most upstanding citizen. From poor to wealthy, we're all scrunched in here together like animals in a cage. Well, maybe not quite that bad. At least if we stay on the right side of the law, we get to leave at the end of the day with our lives intact.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment