Civic Duty, and Cell Phones…..

I recently received a letter in the mail from Fauquier County (note to people who live elsewhere: this is pronounced Faw-keare, not Fuc-here, as my mother-in-law use to occasionally mispronunce….). Cathy opened it for me, and I heard “uh-oh” as she handed the letter to me.

Special Grand Jury leaped off the page at me and my pulse increased a bit. Then I realized that I was being summoned as a potential juror, and not to be investigated…”whew, dodged a bullet there” I thought. Kidding…I’m not currently aware of doing anything that a grand jury would want to investigate….;-)

I read and then reread the letter. It turns out this is a serious time commitment – the first and third Thursday of the month, for a period of six months to “investigate any condition that involves, or tends to promote criminal activity“. Two days a month for six months….If you are working fulltime, how could you possibly do this?

But, I’m not working fulltime. As a matter of fact, I’m (mostly) retired, with a bit of consulting on the side, so I don’t have to worry about that impact. And you know what? This IS important. We all need to do our part to support our communities, and maybe this is another way I can support mine. It will be interesting to see the makeup of the jury, once selection is completed. Will we be a collection of retirees, unemployed people, and house wives/house husbands?  

I looked at the letter again, and they provided a number to call, confirming you received the letter. I called the number and a lady answered. I confirmed receipt and said I would be there on the 14th. The lady said “make sure you wear appropriate attire (no shorts)”, and then wanted to confirm my telephone number. I was about to give her my home number, when she recited my cell number to me, and wanted to know if that was correct. I said “yes”, and then it hit me – why and how did the county have my cell phone number? I asked her that question and there was momentary silence on the line. Then, “I don’t know, that’s just the number we show for you”. I thanked her, and hung up the phone.  

So, on the 14th, I’ll be in downtown Warrenton, dressed appropriately, and not carrying my cellphone (on the backside of the letter – no cellphones allowed). I sure hope they don’t have to call me that day….