Uh-Oh

 

About a month ago I went to the mailbox and found a jury summons.  Now don’t get me wrong, I like and want to do my civic duty but I get summoned every three years or so.  I have served on both criminal and civil cases and missed up to a week of work on several occasions.  I’ve gone many times to the Kansas City Courthouse and the Independence Courthouse for jury duty.  Slightly frustrated, I put the summons on the table with the other mail and went about some other things I had been doing. 

The next day I remembered I left the summons on the table and went to get it.  It wasn’t there!  I tore the house up (twice) looking for it and never found it.  You have to have your summons because it has your juror number and jury card.  You must show up on the assigned date or be fined and /or jailed!  I was freaking out as I have never lost anything like that.  I tried calling the jury office and of course could not get a real person.  The recording gave me an email address to write and it also let me leave a message.  Over the following four weeks, I left a message and emailed every week with no response.  Luckily, I remembered the date and location of service but I was sure nervous about arriving without my juror number and card.

This past Monday morning I received a phone call from the jury office!  I was never so happy to hear from someone.  She apologized for the delay.  Jury duty was canceled for a year during the pandemic and apparently they are still catching up.  I was not able to get a copy of my jury card but she did give me my juror number and confirmed the date and location.  So next Tuesday I will go to the courthouse with that information and see how it goes.  There is a chance I won’t have to serve because that is the second day that week for jury selection.  There is a possibility they will have the number of people they need by then.  If they don’t, I will happily do my duty. 

                                               Sophie & Zeus say Hi!

Sophie

 

Zeus

100

 

Today would be my Mother’s 100^th birthday.  She used to laugh and joke about how she was going to live to be 100.  Even though she died at 66 from a second round of cancer, I believe a part of her is still alive in my heart if nothing else. 

 

Mother in 1939, age 17

My Mother was born on March 1^st 1922.  She was the youngest of three children and the only girl.  When she was four years old her father died from appendicitis.  That was much more difficult to treat in those days, especially without the help of antibiotics.  After his death, her mother and the three children moved closer to family.  The love and support of family made all the difference for them.

 

Daddy, Mother, and
my oldest brother, Charlie, 1940's

Even though my Mother’s adult life was often challenging, she always loved her children and grandchildren more than anything.  She would sing fun songs that the children loved like “Mairzy Doats” and “The Purple People Eater”.  When I was a teenager she was always understanding and supportive of my interests.  By then she was sick much of the time and I often took care of her as much as I was able when I wasn’t in school. 

Mother's Day, 1965

I have so many memories of the little things about my Mother, such as some of the items she carried in her purse.  There was always Dentyne gum, a small tube of Blistix, a handkerchief, a compact, and lipstick.  She used Coty cologne and makeup and I still remember the scent of both.  She took great joy in simple things and loved gardening.  One of her favorite activities was getting together with as much family as possible and having a picnic at a creek or lake nearby.  You know, it’s the many little things we remember about our loved ones that we later realize were actually the big things.