Cattle Call at Guilford Courthouse

It's been a while since I have been called for jury duty. I guess my number came up. It happened on a cold, wet and dreary Tuesday. Yesterday, in fact.

It always starts with the cattle lines in the front and in the lobby of the courthouse. Except these cattle wranglers don't have cattle prods. Instead, they are actually armed with guns, handcuffs and the usual fun accoutrements afforded only to police officers.

Well, this large herd of cattle was forced to sit together in a tight pen in the courthouse. I did have a fun conversation with the gentleman beside me. I jokingly told him that 'drugs make the world go round.' It pays to know who you are talking to, since my fellow bovine turned out to be a police officer!

After a bit of waiting, it was time to thin out the herd. Numerous people got up to give reasons why they couldn't serve. Minutes later, most sat back down in the holding pen.

I had high hopes we would get to watch a movie on the big TV inside our corral. No such luck. Instead, they gave me and my cattle brethren a crash course on what I learned previously in a paralegal class I once took.

Then, we waited. And waited. Several times, someone came in and talked at us.

After yet another waiting session, four more wranglers (alias a judge, bailiff and two attorneys) came in with a comedy routine, then informed us that we wouldn't be needed. Mooo! I'm not sure why. The message which followed the comedy routine eluded me.

So, after a quick role call, they opened the pen gates and released us back into the world. This herd was meant to be free!

Though I was nearly trampled to death in the mad stampede to get parking tickets validated and to get to the exits, I managed to survive to write about it.

Mooooooo.