I didn’t realize Elinor had tagged me to do this Book Meme thing about three weeks ago. For some reason her RSS feed on bloglines does not work for me, so I forget to check her blog now and then. But, anyway, better late than never. Here goes:
1. Total number of books I’ve owned. Right now I have roughly 800 books. In my life I’ve probably owned about 1,000. I rarely get rid of books (which is one of the reasons the thought of moving makes me shudder).
2. Last book I bought. Budget restrictions have made me a library rat recently, so I had to really think about this one. But, I believe it was Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. I highly recommend it, by the way. It is almost a must read for those who have no background in the field.
3. Last book I read. Guide for the Perplexed by E.F. Schumacher. Great book.
4. Five books that mean a lot to me.
- Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton.
- Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master, by Fr. Robert Barron.
- A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas, by Ralph McInerny (this book has the best subtitle ever: A Handbook for Peeping Thomists).
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
- The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis
5. Tag five bloggers to do this meme. Shelly, Randy, Fr. Shane, Fr. Hamilton, Fr. JC
I had to schlep down to the County Courthouse this morning and do my civic duty, offering myself to my fellow citizens as a member of a jury of their peers.
Apparently, if you are a licensed attorney engaged in the practice of law, you are barred from serving on an Oklahoma jury. Unfortunately, I am the former but not the latter. But don’t think I didn’t ask the second I walked in the room.
While looking around the room, I saw two, TWO kids I taught way back when they were in fifth grade. Now they are all growed up and serving jury duty. The one girl even showed me pictures of her two beautiful children. Man I felt old. I also felt a twinge of pride, and maybe some sense that I haven’t wasted the last dozen years of my life.
An odd thing happened towards the end of the day. There is a television in the room where all the jurors waiting for a case have to sit. Well, about 4:00 every channel is showing coverage of the Michael Jackson verdict. The room got quiet and people seemed very curious and interested. About five minutes later, the Clerk of the Court calls the jury supervisor and tells her to turn it off. The supervisor said she was told it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to see the coverage.
Huh?
I can only guess it was because they were afraid if Michael Jackson wasn’t found guilty, then nobody could ever be found guilty again, ever, anywhere.
But at the end of the day, justice prevailed, at least for me. The last time I showed up for jury duty, in 1999, I ended up on a murder trial, and missed nine weeks of work. Today, the justice system decided they didn’t need me, and I’m free and clear for this round of civic servitude.
Oh, and I made twenty bucks, which is the going rate for jury duty per diem these days. So, I’ve got that going for me; which is nice.
Is this a great country or what?
You might think I’d be posting more, now that I ostensibly have nothing to do to fill my days. The life of a teacher in summer is supposedly one of leisure and ease. But let me tell you, vacation is no, uh, vacation. My days are full. I have to watch Imus In The Morning on MSNBC (albeit around noon, on Tivo), I have to get caught up on all my blogs (use bloglines, fast, easy and convenient; not a paid endorsement), then, I have to make coffee (not having my first hour English class around to do it for me has been tough, as you can imagine). After this, I have to make sure there isn’t any compelling soccer on television because if there is, well, you know, I have to watch it (and, often write about it). Then, and only then, can I think about DaveTown. Add in the fact that my goal is to write 1,000 words a day on a novel I’m working on, and reasonably enough, sometimes, blogging gets pushed to the side.
I’m only one man, I’M ONLY ONE MAN!
Cut me some slack here, people.
I don’t even know the guy. That’s what really hurts. 