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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Do They Want Me To Get Into Trouble?

A couple of months ago, Sweetie got one of those postcards in the mail that demand you get online and fill out a jury duty evaluation form.  He didn't want to do it, so i did it for him, because i didn't want him being hauled into the court and forced to do it, which they will do.

(They have a space where they ask if someone else filled out the form for you and why, and i said that yes, his wife did it because he hates typing on the iPad, which is true, and also as much as they needed to know.)

He was, of course, called up for jury duty, and served his one day, because when they found out he's going to question everything both sides say and go over it all with a fine tooth comb, they didn't want him.

Then, on September 9, i left for my yearly sanity retreat.  On September 10, i got one of those delightful little postcards demanding i go online and fill out the form.

The day i got back in town, September 16, i got online to try to fill it out, not wanting to risk the ire of the local courts.  Their website was down.

It was still down through the weekend, and although they say you can do the whole thing through text messages (and i did not want to have to do all that typing in texts!), when i did give in and send a text, i got no response.  When the website came back up yesterday, it wouldn't let me in with the numbers on my card, probably because it's been longer than they allow for you to do it.

Finally, i tried calling the jury duty office.  No answer.  Still no answer.  And yet still, no answer.

It is now several days past the deadline by which i had to fill out the form, and so i am using my one day off this week to haul myself down to the jury office in person, show them the card, tell them what happened, and ask them how to rectify the situation before they decide to issue a subpoena and haul me up there to fill out the form.

Dang it, people, i'd fill the thing out, if you'd make it possible to do so!  And yes, i know you are going to call me up and make me miss a day of work, and thus a day of pay, to find out that i'm just like Sweetie and won't just go along with some slick talking attorney, so they won't want me.

Sometimes i think they want us to get into trouble.


Today is:

Aizu Byakko Matsuri -- Aizuwakamatsu-shi, Fukushima, Japan (ceremonial recreation of a march to war in 1868; through the 24th)

American Business Women's Day -- US (anniversary of the founding of the American Business Women's Association)

Boidromia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; honor Apollon as god of rescue during war)

Breakfast, Snack, Elevenses, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Tea, Snack, Dinner, Snack, More Snacks, Supper, Snack, and Bilgewack Celebration Day -- Fairy Calendar (Borms; they are little known relatives of Goblins, given to being overweight and sedentary and lying around feeling ill; bilgewack is their term for having eaten too much and having to lie down.)

Coya Raymi -- Inca Native Americans (festival to honor Moon Goddess Quilla, with a focus on purging sickness and evil; through tomorrow, dates approximate)

Dear Diary Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; get it down on paper!

Elephant Appreciation Day -- sponsored by "Elefunteria" and WildHeart Productions

Feast of Mikeli -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (harvest celebration; through the 24th)

Hobbit Day -- Bilbo's and Frodo's Birth anniversary

Ice Cream Cone Day -- Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cone mold on this day in 1903

Independence Day -- Bulgaria; Mali

International Day of Radiant Peace -- www.radiantpeace.org

National Centenarians Day -- US

National White Chocolate Day

National Voter Registration Day -- US (Celebrating Democracy in America

OneWebDay

Princess Martha Louise's Birthday -- Norway (an official flag day)

Ritual of the Netjers of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

St. Maurice's Day (Patron of armies, cloth dyers, cloth makers, infantrymen, soldiers, swordsmiths, weavers; Austria; Manresa, Spain; Pianello Val Tidone, Italy; Piedmont, Italy; Sardinia; Stadtsulza, Germany; Pontifical Swiss Guards; against cramps and gout)

Thrue Bab -- Bhutan (Blessed Rainy Day)

Woman Road Warrior Day -- to recognize the traveling businesswomen in today's world

World Carfree Day -- UN (encouraging all of us to go car free for a day, and see the world from a different perspective) began as:
     Car-Free Day -- this has spread to much of the world; try it for yourself! 


Birthdays Today:

Billie Piper, 1982
Ronaldo, 1976
Bonnie Hunt, 1964
Catherine Oxenberg, 1961
Scott Baio, 1961
Joan Jett, 1960
Andrea Bocelli, 1958
Debby Boone, 1956
Shari Belafonte, 1954
Arthur O. Sulzberger, 1951
Paul Le Mat, 1945
Junko Tabel, 1939 (first woman to summit Everest)
Tommy Lasorda, 1927
John Houseman, 1902
Michael Faraday, 1791
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, 1694(O.S. Date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Friends"(TV), 1994
"Family Ties"(TV), 1982
"Charlie's Angels"(TV), 1976
"A Delicate Balance"(Play), 1966
"Fiddler on the Roof"(Musical), 1964
"The Man from U.N.C.L.E."(TV), 1964
"Maverick"(TV), 1957


Today in History:

Legion I Italica is created by Emperor Nero, 66
Switzerland becomes an independent state, 1499
The General Provincial Court at Patuxent, MD, US, empanels the first all female jury in the colonies to try the case of a woman accused of murdering her child, 1656
A final 8 people are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., 1692
Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution, 1776
Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska, 1784
City of Des Moines, Iowa, is incorporated as Fort Des Moines, 1851
Abraham Lincoln, by executive proclamation, declares that the slaves in the rebelling states shall become free on Jan. 1 of the upcoming year, 1862
Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich, 1869
The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, 1888
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather, King George III, as the longest reigning monarch in British history, 1895
Italo Marchiony granted a patent for an ice cream cone, 1903
The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain, 1910
Ralph J. Bunche becomes the first black winner of the Nobel Peace Price, 1950
The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library, 1991
David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon, 2003

9 comments:

  1. This sort of bureaucracy gets us real bureaucrats a bad name!!!!

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  2. Personally I think budget constraints and poorly elected officials are the reason for these bureaucratic snafus. DOD if far more important to some than DOJ.

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  3. It's government at its finest. It's the way of things. Nothing is simple. NOTHING. I know since I worked in government for 25 years. Nothing is simple. They are very hesitant of messing around with potential jurors though so not to worry about going to jail. That would mess this free pool of jurors something awful. Sorry you're going through this.

    Have a terrific day. ☺

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  4. thank you for this. It just confirms for me that quitting my government job was absolutely the best decision. LOL
    honestly. *eyeroll for eternity* Although I am sure they are aware the website was not available to people. Maybe they will just re-issue all those summons. no... wait. sorry, that would make Perfect Sense. LOL
    hopefully it all works out.

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  5. You poor things. Jury duty is one thing, but losing another day to fix their problem is beyond the pale. I'd call or fax them silly until they get the message.

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  6. Oh, dear. Sounds like when my Mom was called. I had to help her with the online 'thing', and she sent, by mail, some more info. No response. She was nearly panicking, and finally called the court directly. After several 'round we go' phone trees, she found the correct person, who told her, no, they don't send out notifications, you just show up... Well, she WAS excused, but geez Louise, a two hour trip to find out she didn't have to come in? And we are one of the "closer" areas to the court, some have a 5-6 hour trip! NOT a happy camper, when that could be solved so easily... sigh...

    Cat

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  7. perhaps you can sue them for undue stress or harassment or something. ha!

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  8. If they want people to serve, they should make the process easier.

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