CarrieByTheSea

For the "90% of life is just showing up" people, I suppose a t-shirt and spandex is good enough for a wedding, a funeral, even jury duty if one owns nothing else. For everyone else, I would think it wise to invest in a dress, pants suit, or coat & tie since--however offensive it might be to hear--this is generally considered more respectful attire for such occasions. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Agreed; I would rather have (either, preferably both) Wendy/s on the jury. But, how do you get out of county legally? And, having said that, both Wendys seem to have the desire to dress their best. I did not mean for this thread to take a wardrobe turn, but clearly those I would want on my jury would put forth more effort than those I was previously surrounded by in county. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

I disagree. I am not obligated as a citizen to donate blood. I do, because I am O/universal donor and I give a shit. They even gave me a key chain, because I rock. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Black jeans and a short-sleeved polo shirt would have been a breath of fresh air, Faulkner.

Because you are in screenwriting class and not thinking for yourself. I like you, too. Disappointed, nonetheless. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Wasn't it Woody Allen that said, "Ninety percent of life is just showing up"? Well, they showed up. It's not their fault they don't meet somebody else's standard or expectations. Really, you are quoting Woody Allen? I think to myself "Self? Would I rather they show up or be honest about their intentions?" Showing up is slightly better than not caring at all; it certainly is not 90% of anything. You might as well say, "What goes around comes around." You either do what you believe is the right thing to do for nothing in return, or do it because you think you have completed 90% of said task and it will all come back to you in this life or the next. I do not know about the latter/s, but I show up because I believe it is the right thing to do and for nothing else. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

I have to agree. In federal, many of the people I spoke to were from what I call "the sticks"--i.e. the country/middle of the state. While I can see the ocean from my house, I do not live very far from the city. Still, I was most impressed by the folks from "the sticks" that showed up in their "Sunday best", despite the lengthy commute and obligations at home and work and showed respect and class. Again, federal was a neat experience; I value the time I spent with some of those people, however inconvenienced we all were. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

I like you, however, you stated the CEO, doctor, lawyer, cops, EMT's, Navy guys and one Marine were "not dressed like you'd expect, either". Such a statement leaves room for interpretation, but I would expect all of the above would not be dressed in any way that would show disrespect to the court to which they were summoned. The concern is that it appeared the 600+ people summoned did not give a shit where they were or what their civil duty was--they just hoped they were not arrested for non-appearance. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Wendy, I love you, but you guys are making me feel horrible. There_IS_mention on each summons I have received. I would post the summons, but I am worried something I skimmed over would give away info where I live so the best I will offer is: "5. ATTIRE: Please dress appopriately. Casual clothes are not appropriate. A coat and tie for a man, a dress or pants suit for a woman, or military or other uniform are appropriate." "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Thank you for your response.

Great response, Krisanne.

You have prejudged my background (incorrectly) at least as well as you claim I have judged others. I disagree it is advantageous to own a dress and elect to wear it--because you were clearly asked to do so in your summons--instead of spandex and a t-shirt. Edit: Hi, SC; I have missed you. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

I can follow directions and maintain professional courtesy. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

When I was called to federal jury duty I was seated in a large room with comfortable chairs and tables in-between every two chairs. The room was far from full and the potential jurors spread out in the room were all mostly well-dressed. During the selection process, I learned we had several doctors, professors and mostly college graduates among us. It was a neat experience, but I was thankful I was not selected since the two trials would require nine or more days of my time. Recently, I was called to county jury duty and I felt like I had missed the memo on what I should have done or said to get out of it. Despite the clear directions for men to wear a coat and tie and women to wear a dress or pant suit, not a single man I saw had a coat, much less a tie and most of the women were in spandex, t-shirts and highly inappropriate clothing. People were loud, obnoxious, spoke poorly and lacked any kind of decorum. The chairs were stacked on top of one another and despite my best efforts, I was elbowed on each side and kicked once from behind. Looking around, I felt so out of place and very uncomfortable. Where were the doctors and professors dressed nicely and the chairs spread out spaciously for each of us to maintain a personal space? I wanted to raise my hand and explain there was a terrible mistake; I was not supposed to be in this group. Am I missing something? I selected the date to serve, as the first date I was summoned to did not work well for me, and my employer was pissed I "did not get out of it", but did not offer a suggestion as to what I should have said or done to do so. All I know is federal was fine (except the potential length of service) and county scared the hell out of me. I wish someone would clue me in as to why there was such a vast difference in the type/s of people. How ironic I had to leave my defense weapons in the car. If I have been in any crowd I might need one, this was surely it. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Just an "ah ha!" moment for me that changed my behavior. I still have those, but that is one of earliest. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

While I have not seen many since, we used to find beached starfish after a storm as a little girl and dry them out to save/keep. Now I throw them back. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

The 80s. I was born and things were awesome. I wore a side-pony-tail to school and rocked the roller-rink. I first learned about oceanography in "gifted" class and thus began my campaign to save the whales, the sea turtles and the starfish. The best movies came out in the 80s, and musicians could actually sing and were not 12. And then there was Patrick Swayze "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Still, we seem to be missing the old stuff, before "Post#1". Some things never change, necromancer. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

As a favor for a family friend, I did everything but pay the final negotiated bills to clean up his (very bad) credit* and the only thing left after that was a credit card (paid in full each month) that he was merely an additional (not primary) cardholder on. This was probably eight years ago, and that cc is still the only thing on his credit. His lowest score now is a 780. When I worked as a mortgage consultant to high priority clients of the firm, I routinely pulled credit of wealthy retirees who had nothing left to show on their reports. While, occasionaly this would produce a "0" score, most of the time all three of their scores would be in the 800s. Great overall advice from you, John, to the jaded in this thread. I hope they listen. *And I only did the favor because when said friend received a small inheritance, he asked me if there was any way it would be enough to make him debt free--despite his good smarts, his bad credit and lack of discipline in this particular area had become a real problem for him later in life. He wanted to give me the money, but I made him hold on to it until I was done and the final amounts/bills were received and ready to send off. It took a couple months before all was complete (and barely a dollar below his inherited amount, which was a feat in itself) and the final bills were received. I then gave him the bills to write the checks. And he did.

One of my favorites: Iz Kamakawiwo--What a Wonderful World "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

My favorite is the Bom Dia juices. Our Costco carries the acai blueberry which is my favorite.

I see this thread is on fire, and I have not yet read any any responses so: Though I have never been described as "THE AVERAGE CHICK" by any definition or connotation, it would not be a turn off to me "if a dude does not wish to have kids" as I have never/do not want any myself. Many things are a turn off, but the one that sticks out most is a man who cannot swim or is not very good at it. I really do not care what his circumstances; if he is not a great swimmer, I cannot see past that. Call me shallow and catch me in the deep end. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Great--this is so how my brain works. The first one I thought of was a cover for The Cure, and now I cannot stop thinking of all The Cure cover songs as if I am in a contest. Here is another I like sinceiwas: 311--Love Song "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

As long as we are going there: Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen--Whip My Hair "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

Well played. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin