Sunday, February 21, 2016

Back Again

It has been a few weeks.  I've been busy.  Doesn't mean I don't have opinions.

Mostly, disappointments.  Especially the two biggest events of the early year.

-First, the Super Bowl was one of the worst played Championship Games I have ever seen.  Denver won the game with their defense, which was the best part of the game.  Until the Broncos took the lead, I felt Braden Colquitt, the punter, was the MVP.  About the game's execution, I was in favor of it.

One thing I couldn't help but think about was how many titles Peyton Manning would have been part of in Indianapolis if they had half the defense the Broncos had this season.  Manning's brilliance would have rivaled Montana with a better defense.  (I still choke when I think Brady might be in that league). The numbers and the class which Manning operated are in a league of their own.  Pending investigation, of course.

-Today's Daytona 500 did something I didn't expect: made the Super Bowl look scintillating.  Only the inside line worked, and single groove racing is boring racing.  Ask anybody who has been to the Brickyard 400.  It was the Brickyard with a better climate.

The finish was worthy of a major event.  Denny Hamlin had the best car, the only car capable of pulling the outside line close enough to make a winning pass.  Chase Elliot's emergence will inject some new life into NASCAR.  He sounds good when interviewing, drives the wheels off the car, and, as long as he behaves off the track, will be a sponsor's dream.

-Leaving the world of sports, I would like to discuss something of real world importance.  In America, many people have an aversion to jury duty.  I have even joked about needing to follow the law because you don't want your future determined by twelve people that couldn't get out of jury duty.

Having recently served on my second criminal jury, I can tell you the process is better than expected. If the bailiff knows their job, they will make you comfortable, and treat you with dignity and respect. If the judge and lawyers know their job, they will do their best to spare you embarrassment.  You can concentrate on the job of the deciding the outcome of the trial.  

The best part of the trial experience comes after the verdict: in our jurisdiction you meet with the attorneys and the judge where any question is open.  You see all of the for what they are: real people, generally with a sense of humor, doing difficult jobs.  Being professionals, they do their jobs well.  The facts of the case will decide it for you.

I might make it sound trivial, but you do decide the fate of other people, but you are not alone.  I have served with 22 people, who were generally intelligent, fair minded, and down to earth people.  I couldn't have had better people to serve alongside.

Don't lie to get out of it.  Don't make up a plausible story to excuse yourself if it is questionably true.  Don't let your boss threaten to fire you if you are selected.  The law is not on your employer's side for that one.  Besides, the judge is a lawyer and will likely come to your aid.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" is a statement attributed to Edmund Burke, a member of the British Parliament.  If you can do the good, do it.  Don't expect someone else to do what you can.
 

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