Jury duty yesterday. I was at the City & County Building from 08:30 to 18:30! There were 50 of us who got called right off the bat to be examined and culled, for a jury of 12 + 1 needed for a murder trial. (An African-American man, in his late 30’s or early 40’s, I’d say, is to be tried for the murder of his wife and attempted murder and assault on another woman.) All criminal trials, it turns out, are “The State vs” trials, with the burden on the prosecuting attorneys, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the guilt of the charged person. The prosecuting team consisted of two middle-aged fellows, the defense team of two younger women. The lead prosecuting attorney was very amiable and skilled in setting his stage as he queried potential jurors; the lead defense attorney considerably less so. (The judge at one point consulted with the attorneys and seems to have counseled her on clarifying her basic concepts for the “audience.” But it kept becoming murky as she queried the Potentials.) The judge, Morris Hoffman, in his forties of fifties, was a good explainer and organizer, with a sense of humor.
Both defense attorneys were interestingly attired. Expensive skirt suits of dark woolen tones, very tight, the skirts above the knees. Both wore spike heels. Their attire seemed a bit too provocative for me, but what do I know? The lead woman reminded me a lot of Plum Creek’s Shana M.
The selection process was fascinating. A few of the first 35 chosen for the “bull pen” were released (mostly for language proficiency issues) along the way, replaced by one of us 15 “outsiders.”
At the very, very end, with 15 minutes left in the process, a Vietnamese fellow was excused from the 35 and replaced by, it turns out, a former Bronco. He wound up being chosen for the jury, poor guy!
Out of the final 35, 20 were “Booted” by the attorneys (ten boots allocated for each side). So that at the end, there were 13 jury members (8 females, 5 males), 20 “bootees” and 2 left over.
The trial is scheduled to last a week. The defense, it seems is not disputing the facts, but is going to rest its case on lack of pre-meditation and lack of culpable mindset at the time of commission, due to intoxication.
Piano lesson Monday. We worked on Schumann’s one-page Melody. I picked out the Patterns. Steve scaffolded me on how to add new pattern layers slowly enough so as not to feel overwhelmed and lost. It worked.
I feel myself at a new state of Humility re the Piano: I might as well slow down inside myself each time I sit at the keyboard, and allow the spaciousness of Beginner’s Mind, because otherwise, as the past couple of weeks demonstrated, I scare myself away from playing.
Steve suggested I tackle a new / some new piece/s, “pieces that are Big enough for who you are!” His offerings: Bach – Busoni Chaconne and a Chopin Berceuse. Both passacaglias, Steve explained, in having a recurring left hand pattern for the entire piece. Steve: “The Bach is Mt. Everest, the Chopin is Pike’s Peak.” “I do feel up to the challenge, Steve, but I’m not sure how to do it.” “Well, ponder how you’d approach it!” :”Steve, you’re supposed to give me handy-dandy answers! That’s your job as teacher!“ Steve, smiling: “Sorry!”
I’m starting to consider the Golf as my car. I’ll need to get the Honda elsewhere, out of my life. The last big connection to life on Elati St. A good change.
Connie and I met Monday with Gar. Our Dreamways logo is done. I like how it looks; lots of energy, movement, I think. Now we embark upon our Website!