January 3, 2020
Dear Everyone:
Last month, I spent some quality time in a courthouse in Martinez, the
county seat. I was serving
Jury Duty, for which I was ultimately paid $114.10.
We were all there from Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday, and
the following Monday to Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the temperature dropped down into the lower 40s in
most places. The courthouse
had an HVAC system, but it was shut off during the off hours.
Consequently, on Monday morning
it felt like it was freezing in there.
I’m sure that people in certain climates would scoff at a “balmy”
40 degrees, but it’s not something that we’re used to here in the Bay
Area.
Also, we jurors were required to exit the courtroom during breaks and
things, so we had to sit, if lucky enough to find a space on a bench, or
stand in the hallway which, despite thermostats placed a regular
intervals, I suspect are not actually heated.
As for the courtroom itself, those 15-18-foot ceilings are
impressive, but they aren’t conducive to keeping the very large room
warm.
When we were filing out of the Jury Box at one point, I noticed a tiny
space heater set up to one side, facing the jurors.
I found out later that it normally sat under the Judge’s own
desk. He had volunteered it,
to try and help to keep the jury warm.
Several of the jurors were visibly shivering in the morning.
Consequently, during the lunch break, I went to my car and rummaged
around in the trunk for the emergency mylar blanket that I knew was in
there somewhere. I brought
it back to the courthouse hallway, unfolded it, and wrapped it around
one of the jurors. She
looked like an old-time TV dinner, but she was warmer than most.
I also dragged an old jacket from the car trunk and draped it over my
legs like a lap rug. By
Tuesday afternoon, the heating system had caught up with the weather and
the extra warmth was no longer needed.
I refolded the mylar blanket and put it back into its little bag and
back into the emergency supplies along with the old jacket.
I also made a mental note to get
another blanket, or two, in the near future.
Obviously, a second blanket in the car would be helpful, plus I
decided to get one for the Emergency Supply Box on the patio.
With a mylar blanket, some clothesline, and the ever-trusty roll of duct
tape, one could fashion a tent in pretty short order.
What, exactly, is a mylar blanket?
It’s really just a rectangle of a very fine polyester film,
frequently treated with a surface that is reflective on at least one
side. It’s what a lot of
helium balloons are made from, since it holds the gas better than
regular balloon material. It
also reflects sunshine, when you want it to, and holds in natural body
warmth. And a large
rectangle folds down into a space about the size of your hand, weighing
less than an ounce.
I have absolutely no idea where I originally found it.
It may even have been one of those “door prizes” doled out at
“Safety Meetings” at work all those years ago.
Certainly I know that I used it more than once for just such a
non-life-threatening instance where some additional warmth was greatly
appreciated.
Once released from Jury Duty, I ventured into a local sporting goods
store to look for more mylar blankets.
The first one didn’t have any, or that’s what the young man
working there told me.
I decided to try a bigger franchise store, one that catered to patrons
who like to use a lot of recreational equipment.
This is the place you would go to for a surf board, or a kayak,
or camping equipment. I was
thinking camping equipment would be the department in which to look.
In very little time I found a selection of “Survival Blankets”.
Silver, and therefore reflective, on one side, bright orange, and
therefore eye-catching, on the other, these are perfect for emergencies
of just about any kind. Plus
they were very reasonably priced.
In retrospect, I could have picked a better time to be shopping for them
than less than a week before Christmas.
Most of the time was spent waiting in line for a cashier.
Nevertheless, in a fairly short time I had two new blankets to
add to my ever-increasing supply of stuff to use in emergencies great
and small.
I do plan to go back to the store in the next few weeks.
They had a lot of really cool stuff that might come in handy in
one of those “emergency” situations that can come up at any time.
Like I read in my brothers’ Boy Scout Manuals:
Be prepared!
Meanwhile…
On New Year’s Day, “Jeannie” and I went to see Bombshell.
This is a film version of the story of how a very powerful man finally
went too far and was brought down by a group of determined young women.
The movie stars Charlize Theron (Oscar winner), Nicole Kidman (Oscar
winner) and Margot Robbie (only Nominated, so far) as the main
characters, Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson and Kayla Pospisll.
They are more than supported by the likes of John Lithgow, Kate
McKinnon, Allison Janney and Malcolm McDowell.
And many, many others.
For more than 30 years, Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News, allegedly
used his position to sexually harass various female employees.
Then, in 2014, one of them finally decided to fight back.
Unfortunately for Ailes, the age of Instant Communications meant
that a lot of assorted others found out and decided to join in.
Ultimately, Ailes was forced to resign, with only $40 million to soften
the blow. It couldn’t have
happened to a nicer guy.
What I found particularly interesting was the number of well-established
actresses who played minor roles, without screen credit, such as one who
had a starring role for years in a TV series, portraying a talking head
on CNN for two small scenes at best.
It looks like they were all more than willing just to be a part
of a the depiction of a well-deserved takedown.
It also means I’ll be watching the film again on TV when it becomes
available, just to watch for all those cameo appearances.
“Oh, brave new world!”
Love, as always,
Pete
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