Jury Duty

My jury duty is completed. I wasn't selected, but it turned out to be a positive and very interesting experience. I think we all dread jury duty when we get one of those letters in the mail, or at least we don't look forward to it. Or maybe dread is too strong a word. All I know is that when I received my recent summons, about a week before Christmas, I thought "oh geez", or maybe something a little stronger. The previous times I'd been summoned were all when I was caregiving for Pearl or my Mom. I had a legitimate excuse then, and I used it, because both ladies had no other person to replace me on the job, and thus I never had to report for jury duty. Since 2000, I think I've received about 5 summons, maybe 6. But even when you mail in your excuse, you still have to make those daily phone calls, five of them from Monday thru Friday of your jury service week, to see if you have to report. They never actually tell you "we've accepted your excuse", at least, that's the way it worked for me. However, in all the times I was summoned while caregiving, I never had to report. I'd call to check on Sunday night (no), then Monday (no), then Tuesday (no), and by Wednesday, if it was still no: "you do not have to report", I'd be thinking I was home free. Just one more "no" to go. Then when I got it, I'd breathe a sigh of relief. Jury duty avoided once again.

But this time, because I am no longer caregiving, I did not have that excuse. So I just crossed my fingers and figured, "if I have to report, I'll get through it." I do know three people who've been called to serve. One said it was horrible. The other two made it through the selection process and were actually chosen for juries. Both described it as an interesting experience, and one even said it was rewarding. Nevertheless, I wasn't looking forward to my service week, and crossed my fingers when I made those phone calls. The first one was easy. I called on New Year's Eve, knowing I wouldn't have to report for my first day because court is closed on January 1st. One down, four to go. My second call: "you do not have to report." Same with my third call on Tuesday. Only two more to go. On Wednesday: "you do not have to report." Only one more call to go. Surely I'd be home free once again, even without an excuse. So I made my final, required call last Thursday, just after 7pm, when the reporting instructions become available. My fingers were crossed, big time.

(c'mon, c'mon.....anticipation) Then: "You are ordered to report for jury service on Friday, January 5th, 2024. Your location has been changed to Van Nuys Superior Court East". Address, parking instructions, etc.

Okey dokey. I didn't escape it this time. And I am glad I did not, because it turned out to be one of the more interesting (and, yes, rewarding) experiences of my entire life. Yeah, I couldn't believe it. Even though I wasn't selected (and I could've taken it either way) the overall experience was fascinating and instructive, and there was just something about returning to the Van Nuys Courthouse, a place I had to visit on "the wrong side of the table" on many occasions in the mid-1990s. Even then, I always got a good feeling at Van Nuys, located in an old town, a place that feels like a Valley version of L.A. It always felt like an honest and a fair place, and actually describing the Van Nuys Civic Center, would - for me - take much effort and several blogs because I'd want to get the picture just right. But it just felt good to be there in a place were the legal system holds forth, and to be part of that system for two days. If you ever get called for jury service, here is what you can expect. In our courtroom, there were 34 prospective jurors. We were all given numbers and seated accordingly. The judge, in our case a Court Commissioner, asked us personal and probing questions, in order by our numbers. For jurors, names are not used in the courtroom. He told us that the questions would be personal, and added that if a juror felt uncomfortable answering any question in front of the entire group, that person could request a "sidebar" to be held in chambers with only the commissioner and the two attorneys present.

I had one question asked of me for which I requested a sidebar, which was held yesterday.

Overall it was quite a learning experience to be part of the courtroom process, to hear about the workings of a trial, and to answer the attorney's questions, which were presented to each juror, again in order of number, yesterday afternoon after lunch. I was asked questions by both the defense lawyer and the prosecutor, and answered truthfully and to the best of my ability. You learn the value of truth in a courtroom.

One other thing about jury service, if you do get a summons: bring a book. There's a lot of waiting around. But at Van Nuys, and maybe other courts, you get a 90 minute lunch. I took the opportunity to walk around the civic center area, and got three miles of my daily five in on Friday. I am glad they changed my location to Van Nuys, which also has a great view of the north half of the Valley from the upper floors of the Courthouse West. If you get tired of reading, you can watch the jets coming in slow to Burbank Airport. They look like big, colorful birds floating on an ocean of air. It almost looks like they are on a conveyor belt. It's mesmerising to watch them, and it helps make the waiting time go by.

So, in short, if you do get a jury summons, which if you are an adult of voting age, you will and probably already have.....don't dread it. Sure, you'll hope to get out of it, and you'll cross your fingers while making those phone calls to see if you have to report. I was disappointed on my fifth and last phone call, when I was told I had to come in, but again, for me it turned out to be a very positive experience, and one that I am glad I didn't miss out on. ////

Well, another Northridge institution is gone. Angelo's Barbershop, which had been located in the strip of shops next to Vons since at least 1968 when we moved to Northridge, now sits empty of everything except the sinks and counters, and the 1950s paneling on the wall. The classic red barbers chairs are gone, uprooted, leaving a bare floor. However, not to worry because Angelo's hasn't gone out of business, they've only moved across Nordhoff Street to a space by the Valley Federal Savings bank (now known as Chase). Still, it won't be the same without them next to Vons. 

Back in 1968, when we first moved to Northridge, I got my haircut (whenever my Dad made me, which was about every six to eight weeks), at the Northridge Barber Shop across the street by Alpha Beta and Northridge Books. All was well with that setup for about a year. But as I wrote in a fairly recent blog, I had particular things that scared me as a kid, and one day I went to Northridge Barber Shop, accompanied by my Dad, and the barber who cut my hair (regular boys style) had one of those electric vocal cord stimulators for people who've had their larynx removed. It was a little smaller than a transistor radio, and he held it to his throat to talk. "Regular boys, did you say?" And I cringed while saying "yes", because the guy sounded like a robot. I knew it was wrong to be scared of disabled people, but I hoped the guy wouldn't talk again during the course of the haircut. And when he finished and we left, I said nothing, but the next time Dad made me get my hair cut, I asked him if we could switch to Angelo's Barbershop across the street. I'd never have done that if it wasn't for the transistor radio guy, because the boys at my school called Angelo's "Von's Butcher Shop". It was said that they butchered your hair. That was likely false; Angelo was a renowned barber, and I got my hair cut there again in 1979 when I started at MGM and my foreman Jerry said I needed to cut my long hair because it could get stuck in a film developing machine. I got it cut at Angelo's. My friend the late Mike B. kept his hair long, and it did get caught in a machine!

Well, anyhow. That's about all I've got for today. I've also been working super hard on my book (where I am up to early 1988), and I'm trying to watch movies so I will have something to review for the blog. This is starting off to be an interesting year, a little chilly, but hey - that's L.A. Cold, and we all know there's nothing like it. ////