Jury Duty

I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent today.

I am proud to be an American.

I really am.

I have traveled around the world, and have experienced many other countries. I have been to China, Mexico, Brazil, and others...

Red, White and Blue.

United States of America is the country that holds my heart.

But I can say with all seriousness, I do not enjoy Jury Duty.

Yes, it is our right and duty as Americans to participate in the due process of the legal system. Yes, it is a great honor to be chosen for a jury. Yes, it is a very educational experience when you sit on an actual case.

But when you are stuck in the court room jury holding lobby for eight hours straight with more than 200 other people, it can get very tiresome very quickly.

Especially if those people are Angelinos (the term for Los Angeles county dwellers)...

New York has a bad reputation, and rightfully so. I have been there, I have experienced it, I know.
There are a few other cities, of course, but New York holds the title for me... 

But Los Angeles residents have such an odd way of anger about them, it is off putting to say the least. They are a close second when it comes to being rough around the edges and rude.

When one has to deal with one to two hours of traffic to travel 10 miles... people get a bit wierd.

I have lived in Los Angeles for 10 years now... I am still not used to it.

And I was reminded of that yesterday at Jury Duty. (I was also reminded why I like animals much more than people some days)

For the record, I was not picked for a panel.. I wasn't even called to be a part of a panel to be picked from. My iPad and I sat in that waiting room the whole time.

FYI: Free Wifi in the court rooms and access to Netflix is a godsend.

So I am now signed off and will not need to report for at least another 12 months to serve again on a Jury.

Am I sad about that?

No way, man.

I like Democracy and stuff, but I can like it while going to work, going home and doing what I need to do, far away from large groups of grumbling angry Angelinos stuffed in small rooms.

God Bless America.