Deep Blue State

Mawarriage is what bwings us togever todaay

I had jury duty about a month ago. I didn't get picked or even close. My employer paid me to sit in the jury pool room and read for five hours. This room had windows that faced across the Charles River into Boston and was high enough so that I could see my office building. It was a little like sticking it to the man except that the man had put me there in the first place.

The highlight of my day was the video. Why is it that videos shown to hundreds of people for safety or other important information are always so cheesy? This one must have been made around 1989--fluffy hair, shoulder pads and terrible colors. Maybe they're shooting for an update in '09.

Anyway, the kicker was the message from Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall. She's the one ultimately responsible for the legalization of gay marriage in the Bay State.

And she has a lisp! She cannot say her Rs. Why on earth would someone then force her to say juwy (jury) about 50 times in under 5 minutes?

She also has a weird accent that I couldn't place. It turns out she's from South Africa.

I'm not a xenophobe, but I do find it interesting that someone with so much power (for good or evil, depending on your view) didn't even come to this country until graduate school.

So kids, Ms. Marshall is proof that your speech problems won't necessarily be impediments to sucess. Just try not to pick a career that will force you to frequently use words you can't say correctly!

A Tree Grows in Topsfield

Two weekends ago we went maple sugaring. This involved a trip to a Mass Audobon Wildlife Reserve in Topsfield, MA, home of the longest-running agricultural fair in the country! It doesn't last for months; it has just been held since 1818. But I digress ...

In a group of about 20 adults and kids we rambled through the woods to learn how to identify a sugar maple, taste sap (like a drop of Diet Coke left in melting ice), see how to tap a tree and watch the sap boiling into syrup.

At one point the naturalist needed a kid volunteer to a demonstration. A boy about 9 got in front of the group. The naturalist asked if he had ever pretended to be a tree, assuming he would hold his arms up like any kid in a school nature play. Not this kid. He did a yoga tree.

Oh Massachusetts