The Mail

Even though most of us communicate electronically, there is still the ritual of daily, physical mail delivery. The past two days have brought some interesting finds.

Yesterday I got a form letter (actually quite glossy) from my former corporate overlords (News Corporation) requesting my attention to a soon to be released, one-time offer to buy out my pension for a lump sum. I can't wait. I worked for them for 7 years, was fully vested in the pension program and made SIGNIFICANTLY more per year than I am making now. More than likely I will take the offer, and roll it into some tax protected fund.

Today I got my first jury duty notice for Memphis. Back in New York, it seems like I was on the sucker list every two years, like clockwork. Nine years here, and finally my number is up. The process, however, is pretty screwed up. In New York (a much bigger place, and I have to say a hell of a lot more organized), you are assigned a day to report, and if it is inconvenient, they let you call or mail in the date you DO want to appear for your duty. Here, though, it seems like the hoops are more silly. First you report (in the middle of the day) to the convention center in downtown Memphis. Nobody goes there willingly, but I am sure there is some sort of under the table deal with parking lots and such to provide a large pool of suckers. Do you get assigned to a jury that day? Nope. You are appearing, in person, to let them know what day you would like to start your service. So, I have to take a day from work (again, more revenue in the city tax stream) in order to select more days I will take off from work.

Fighting down a gall bladder attack - the first in a long time. On top of the sore throat that has progressed to the hacking cough and soon to be dripping sinuses. And I volunteered to go into school today for the Reading Camp, which wasn't a total waste of time, although 8 out of 120 kids in the 6th grade is not a stellar outpouring of potential literacy.