I'm going to walk the hallowed halls of The White House...again. Just been informed by our local Congressman. I promise not to bag the Lincoln Bedroom.
First time I went there was eight years ago during the Clinton Administration and it was very interesting, though I was amazed at how small the house actually is. It was during Easter and the staff were putting out wooden eggs for the kids to find next day.
My youngest sister Siobhan, her hubby Michael and children, David--no longer a kid as he's now at University--and Ryan, arrive soon and we have been accepted and given the date of the visit. Since 9/11, one has to apply via one's Congressional rep to visit the White House and then information like SSN and Passport Numbers have to be provided. Makes perfect sense.
So we'll spend a weekend in DC.
Also planned is a trip to the Bronx Zoo, the largest in the world. What did ya expect? This is New York.
One can ride over the lion exhibit in a cable car the grounds are so huge.
Showing posts with label 9/11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 9/11. Show all posts
Thursday
Wednesday
Snippets from Manhattan yesterday
Walking along Third Avenue, two women yakking behind me.
"Well, that was great. We'll have to meet for lunch again soon."
"Yeah, I really enjoyed it. We must."
"What are you doing round August?"
At the Citibank main office on Lexington, I come across a pilot strike.
There were about 100 American Airlines pilots dressed in crisp uniforms and carrying placards and slotting schedules. Apparently, they want more money and shares.
Then further down the street, a picket. I come across some men standing beside a huge (twelve) foot rubber rat. It was a local maintenance union on strike outside their building.
Who would want a rat as a mascot? Hardly endearing or guaranteed to elicit New Yorkers sympathy, I'd say.
A sign of the times--the homeless are beginning to be very visible. At the Port Authority where I board the bus home, there was a man sleeping on the tile floor nearby. As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder what happened in his life that he's now on the streets in the wealthiest city in the world. Unfortunate thing is there's going to be a lot of homeless if the economy keeps gooing south.
And finally, a glimmer the recession may not last as long as some fear. All around the city, there are new highrises going up--and, if the advertising is to be believed--over seventy percent of the new luxury apartments in some of them are already sold.
An eerie sight now presents as one is leaving NYC via the Lincoln Tunnel. As the bus snakes around the ramp leading to I78, one is treated to magnificent views of Manhattan including two shimmering highrises that have been recently erected in mid-town. They resemble small versions of the twin towers and one's thoughts are immediately taken back to that terrible day. I wonder if the architect designed that deliberately or if the building were designed and approved years before 9/11.
"Well, that was great. We'll have to meet for lunch again soon."
"Yeah, I really enjoyed it. We must."
"What are you doing round August?"
At the Citibank main office on Lexington, I come across a pilot strike.
There were about 100 American Airlines pilots dressed in crisp uniforms and carrying placards and slotting schedules. Apparently, they want more money and shares.
Then further down the street, a picket. I come across some men standing beside a huge (twelve) foot rubber rat. It was a local maintenance union on strike outside their building.
Who would want a rat as a mascot? Hardly endearing or guaranteed to elicit New Yorkers sympathy, I'd say.
A sign of the times--the homeless are beginning to be very visible. At the Port Authority where I board the bus home, there was a man sleeping on the tile floor nearby. As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder what happened in his life that he's now on the streets in the wealthiest city in the world. Unfortunate thing is there's going to be a lot of homeless if the economy keeps gooing south.
And finally, a glimmer the recession may not last as long as some fear. All around the city, there are new highrises going up--and, if the advertising is to be believed--over seventy percent of the new luxury apartments in some of them are already sold.
An eerie sight now presents as one is leaving NYC via the Lincoln Tunnel. As the bus snakes around the ramp leading to I78, one is treated to magnificent views of Manhattan including two shimmering highrises that have been recently erected in mid-town. They resemble small versions of the twin towers and one's thoughts are immediately taken back to that terrible day. I wonder if the architect designed that deliberately or if the building were designed and approved years before 9/11.
She's absconded: You're dismissed
Today I was summoned to the County seat for jury service. Anticipating a great deal of downtime, I took the book I'm currently reading, Rachel North's, Out of the Tunnel, a riveting memoir from The Friday Project about her life and suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after she was injured in the bomb that went off on the tube at King's Cross on 7/7/05 (the UK's 9/11 equivalent).
Jury duty was an interesting experience because Bucks County has a One Day-One Trial system, which means the jury is on call one for day only unless selected to form part of a jury in which case it's for the entire trial and not for the full two weeks as they do in say New York State. It makes for a very efficient handling of both the Court's time, the jury's time and the lawyers time. Indeed, it appears that Bucks County, as a result, is the most efficient court system in Pennsylvania (and undoubtedly beyond) as as result of this system and many jurisdictions are emulating it because it has been so successful.
In the United States, the fact I am an attorney does not preclude me from having to do jury service, which I believe is right and proper. I think the jury should reflect society at large, so the fact I have legal training and am a litigator should not mean I can't serve the interests of justice in a case in which I have no direct interest. I'm sure I would get elected the foreperson for the jury--or would try my damndest to make that happen, as I'd like to manage the deliberations and read the verdict at the end of the trial.
In any event, it wasn't to be on this occasion. I was to be sent to a court room for 'voir dire' (selection or rejection by the attorneys) in a criminal trial, but the judge and a tipstaff (Pennsylvania equivalent of a bailiff) came into the jurors lounge at 1.45 and stated the defendant had decided to abscond during lunch and the bailiffs were now in hot pursuit of her. Much chuckling ensued. After thanking us for our time, the judge said he was letting us go as he was not a mean man and going to keep us until she had been apprehended. I guess she decided she was guilty and likely to do time.
I was rather hoping to serve in a murder trial, though one part of me was also nervous because Pennsylvania has the death penalty which is very alien to me as Ireland and the UK abolished capital punishment many years ago. It would, however, have been marvelous grist for a plot or two.
Jury duty was an interesting experience because Bucks County has a One Day-One Trial system, which means the jury is on call one for day only unless selected to form part of a jury in which case it's for the entire trial and not for the full two weeks as they do in say New York State. It makes for a very efficient handling of both the Court's time, the jury's time and the lawyers time. Indeed, it appears that Bucks County, as a result, is the most efficient court system in Pennsylvania (and undoubtedly beyond) as as result of this system and many jurisdictions are emulating it because it has been so successful.
In the United States, the fact I am an attorney does not preclude me from having to do jury service, which I believe is right and proper. I think the jury should reflect society at large, so the fact I have legal training and am a litigator should not mean I can't serve the interests of justice in a case in which I have no direct interest. I'm sure I would get elected the foreperson for the jury--or would try my damndest to make that happen, as I'd like to manage the deliberations and read the verdict at the end of the trial.
In any event, it wasn't to be on this occasion. I was to be sent to a court room for 'voir dire' (selection or rejection by the attorneys) in a criminal trial, but the judge and a tipstaff (Pennsylvania equivalent of a bailiff) came into the jurors lounge at 1.45 and stated the defendant had decided to abscond during lunch and the bailiffs were now in hot pursuit of her. Much chuckling ensued. After thanking us for our time, the judge said he was letting us go as he was not a mean man and going to keep us until she had been apprehended. I guess she decided she was guilty and likely to do time.
I was rather hoping to serve in a murder trial, though one part of me was also nervous because Pennsylvania has the death penalty which is very alien to me as Ireland and the UK abolished capital punishment many years ago. It would, however, have been marvelous grist for a plot or two.
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