A Little Inconvenience

I received that dreaded white envelope in the mail about a month ago. Printed on the outside was “Jury Summons”. My time was up. It had been about four years since I last served on a jury. I was interested in doing my part and seeing our justice system in action. I arrived at the courthouse a half-hour ahead of schedule and went through the airport-type security check. I checked in to the juror’s waiting room and waited. About an hour later, a clerk told us what was going to happen. She told us to make new friends because we were going to be there for awhile.
Groups of people were called by their juror numbers and assigned to specific judges and later brought to their respective courtrooms when the judge was ready. I was in the last group that was called mid-morning. I brought a book to read, but lost interest. A lady struck up a conversation with me and another woman and that passed the time quickly. Then, we were dismissed for lunch and told to return at 1:15 pm.
I expected to be escorted to the courtroom once we returned, but it didn’t happen. We sat, read, talked, and watched an old Steve Martin movie. No word on what was going on. I never sat around for such a long period of time without doing anything constructive. I felt like I was being held hostage, but the only bad conditions were a hard chair and an overly air-conditioned room.
Two hours later, a burly policeman entered the waiting room announcing “All rise”. A petite lady judge followed him and spoke to us. The Judge said she wanted to let us know what was going on. She asked how many of us felt like we had better things to do; that there had to be a better way to do this; and felt a little inconvenienced. Most of us raised our hands. She explained how our constitution mentions the right to a trial three times and how important that is. Judge said that we (the jurors) had to be available should the cases want to go to trial. Fortunately (for us), the parties involved made plea bargains and chose not to go to trial in front of a jury. Then, she said how great our country is with its justice system.
Then, Judge said think about our soldiers who are defending our freedom and our country. They’re missing birthdays and anniversaries and time with their families. Now, that’s an inconvenience.

10 Things I Learned From TLC's "What Not To Wear"

1. Your shoes do not have to match your pants or handbag.
2. If you want to look professional or dressier, wear a jacket.
3. Do not wear something just because it’s comfortable.
4. If you wore it in high school, it’s time to get rid of it.
5. No mini skirts after age 35.
6. Have a suit that you can mix and match with other tops and bottoms.
7. Black, brown, tan, navy and grey are neutrals so any color goes with them.
8. Flip flops are not considered shoes.
9. T-shirts with sayings on them are not for public wear.
10. Accessorize to dress up.

If you need more help, watch "What Not To Wear" on Friday nights at 8:00 PM ET.

Seven Gifts and Love

I attended the second Confirmation Catechism for my son on a Monday evening. Feeling tired and cold, I didn’t really want to be there, but got pulled into Father Bob’s compelling liturgy. He asked the students for examples of the seven gifts of confirmation (wisdom, knowledge, understanding, reverence, counsel, courage, and wonder and awe). Then, he put my son on the spot and asked him for an example of wonder and awe. “Haven’t you ever seen anything beautiful? Gimme an example of something beautiful.” My son couldn’t think of one. I think he wasn’t paying attention or felt shy. I immediately thought of a rainbow and a sunset. The woman behind me said “the Grand Canyon”. Yes, we could think of a lot of everyday things. Then, Father Bob, said, “Look in the mirror. What about your face, a child of God? That beautiful face of someone who cares and loves life.” What a wonderful thing to say.

Then, Father Bob told the students he would be interviewing them about confirmation: asking what it is, what it means to them, and how they can share their time and talents. He gave them one good tip. He said, when I ask you about confirmation or what it means, “You could say love… that’s a good answer for any question, almost.”

I Was Manipulated...

My shoulder was, actually. Yesterday, I went to the outpatient hospital to have arthroscopic surgery performed on my right shoulder which had an impingement. I fasted for 14 hours and fully expected to come out of anesthesia with a one-inch incision on my right shoulder. Instead, my frozen shoulder was manipulated. The doctor tries this first and if it works, skips the invasive surgery. That’s good. While I was under anesthesia, my shoulder was put through a series of motions to break up any adhesions like scar tissue. When a “pop” sound was heard, it was considered successful. Upon waking, my shoulder felt sorer than before, but I have more mobility. With physical therapy my shoulder should get back to normal in a few months. I plan to continue my acupuncture treatments which help improve pain and mobility.

Unusual Banana Bread

I smelled those ripe bananas every time I walked by the kitchen. So, I decided to bake my favorite recipe for banana bread. The first time I had it was almost 30 years ago when Lou Jones, the reservationist at Holiday Inn-East in Kissimmee, brought it in and shared the recipe. The funny thing is I have marked two of the "unusual" ingredients as "optional". Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 3 bananas)
1/4 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup marashino cherries (optional)
1/2 cup (or more) chocolate chips (this is what makes it delicious and still unusual)
Cream shortening and sugar.
Add eggs and cream well.
Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Bake at 350 degrees C for 1 hour or longer.
Makes one delicious banana bread.

Keep America Beautiful

Soda cans, plastic bottles, paper cups, cigarette packs and butts litter the right of way. I am shocked and disgusted by the items people throw out along the roadside. I went for a 45-minute walk in my country neighborhood and could have filled three large trash bags with the stuff strewn on the side of the road. My husband says I’ve adopted the main intersection to our neighborhood because I keep a small plastic bag in my car and occasionally stop to pick up cups and bottles. I figure someone’s got to do it. And that’s one of the reasons that people litter. They figure someone will clean it up. The other reasons are they have no sense of ownership or there’s already accumulated litter. I just wasn’t raised that way. Remember the “Keep America Beautiful” education campaigns in school? It’s our responsibility to preserve and protect our environment. I want to see green grass and blue skies when I travel, not trash. The next time you’re tempted to throw something out the window of your car, please wait until you see the next trash receptacle. Who keeps America beautiful? We all do.