Jury duty...

Representin' A from the court house downtown. I ran into Patrick in the "pool room," which is where they herd about 500 people each morning to learn about the importance of the "one day, one trial system. I took this picture as Patrick's panel had just been called. We were having a good time watching a man in the row in front of us nearly suffocate from sleep apnea (repeatedly). His head would fall back, he would snore for a moment or two, wheeze, pause...pause...and then he would choke and violently wake himself back to life. Every two to three minutes...SNORT! GAG! AAACH! [confused look...back to sleep] SNORE...

A few minutes after Patrick was called, my panel was called to hear a case about a woman who is suing Blaine Beauty Schools for negligence. Of course, that would be too efficient -- once your panel is called, you go through a process that's similar to picking dodge ball teams during kindergarten recess. People get called up to the jury stand, and then they get taken down for some unknown reason...this process of ensuring a fair jury continues for about an hour. During that hour, you can't really do much -- you can't even read the paper. I was one spot away from spending the next two days poring over the exciting evidence about slippery floors, the business of beautician schools, and the standards for negligence in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While I don't question the importance of a fair trial, the process I saw today (built on dot matrix printers, index cards, and Sharpie pens) was grossly inefficient. No one checked my ID...but three people took the time to make sure that I enjoyed my diet Coke only within the confines of the Break Room.

Consultants & Black Belts, where are you?