Good News/Bad News

The good news is:  I'm off jury duty.

The bad news is:  I'm home sick.

The ironic news is:  the former has nothing to do with the latter.

Was supposed to show up for jury duty on Wednesday morning.  Woke up sick.  I saw this coming.  I was kinda sick on Tuesday.  And I thought, "OK, I don't want to get sick -- but if I have to get sick, could I at least get sick on Wednesday to get out of jury duty?"  Seems that I, in fact, could.  Woke up sick on Wednesday.  No way I'm going in -- well, not true.  I could go in.  I could drug myself silly and drive the four miles to the courthouse, then infect everyone in the courtroom.  But, really, I would've called in sick to work, so I figured I should call in sick to jury duty.

I called the courtroom to which I had been assigned.  They weren't in.  I left a message.

I was supposed to be there at 9:00.  By 8:40, they still hadn't called back, and I was still in my pjs.  I figured I should call again.  If they wanted me there, I'd need at least fifteen minutes to put on a pair of sweats and drive over.

I called.  The person on the other end of the phone asked what I wanted.  I explained I'm a juror assigned to their courtroom and I'm sick.  I wanted to know what she wanted me to do.  She wanted to me on hold.  (I could do that.)

She comes back about five long minutes later.  Asks my name again.  I give it to her.  Says, "You're at home now?"  Yep.  Says, "In Pasadena?"  Right again.  Says, "And there's no way you can come in?"  I sigh.  "I guess I could come in if you want, but I'm sick."  (I didn't think this was a very difficult concept to get one's brain around.)  She then says, "Well, the judge told me to tell you that the case has resolved, so your jury obligation is complete." 

Now, under normal circumstances, the preceeding sentence would have been cause for the dance of joy.  (Indeed, when I passed the news on to my boss, he said I made his whole weekend.)  But I was a little peeved that I was getting the third degree before she passed this info on to me.  Like, was she testing to see if I was really sick?  Would I have an immediate recovery upon learning jury duty was over?  And what's up with the whole asking-me-if-I-can-come-in thing if she knows that the case has already settled?  (Did she want me to get up off my couch and spread my germs all over the courthouse just so I could go into the courtroom and listen to the judge thank me for my willingness to serve?)

On the other hand, my boss (after celebrating the fact that I would not be off on jury duty for six weeks) asked how I was spending my Wednesday.  I told him that I was sick at home, but I had brought some work home that I was getting a start on.  And he, bless his heart, said, "You just worry about getting well."

So, yeah, my boss.  Something I'm thankful for.