Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Dah-DUM!!
I simply cannot walk into 60 Centre Street every morning by 9:00am and NOT hear the LAW AND ORDER "sound" in my head...i giggle every time...and today, when the attorney for the defense loudly proclaimed "Objection!!" to some point an expert witness was making, I laughed out loud becasue it caught us all off guard and sounded terribly like the one I once yelled on air..all heads turned my way...I believe my guffaw woke everyone up...in any event, tomorrow is the 4th day of trial...we get Friday off...and Monday too, due to passover...we resume then on Tuesday,, with a late afternoon witness and that should be the end of that part of the trial...the judge will then charge the Jury and off we go to deliberate, though because I am Alternate #1, I wonder how much of the deliberation i will be doing actually....we shall see.
I must admit, I am enjoying my downtown sojourn each day, as it a neighborhood i forget about except when i am down there on Jury Duty, and each time I have to be there, I enjoy it a lot...it has really spiffed itself up over the years I was away, and is now pretty chic and full of great stores,etc. Still the same old China Town and Little Italy edges, but on the whole, cleaner and better...gorgeous enormous sculptures everywhere, modern and passionate in design...and the Government buildings look sparkling clean and important. Tourist busses make regular passes through the neighborhood, and since 9/11, security is enormously in evidence in front of every building. It adds to the imposing nature of the entire scene.
Our little trial chugs on, and everyday I am amazed...that's all I can say for now.
Tonight, A Buddhist discussion meeting on 85th Street and i look forward to it. I have ben assigned the explanation of the practise for guests, and in boning up on it for my short presentation, I have learned and been reminded of so much in the way of why I more and more love to explore and be with this Buddhism. It makes such true intellectual and experiential sense to me, and the daily practise of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ( "I devote myself to the Mystic law of the Lotus Sutra) and the more I study and do Gongyo (study and intoning fo various parts of the Lotus sutra), the more my mind expands to levels of experience and understanding I never expected...like opening gift boxes every day. It fascinates and comforts me on so many levels of my life.
And speaking of GIFT BOXES!!!!: Tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY!!!!! YAY! And already a lovely gift box arrived from Japan with wine and foods from Chris Boyd, and cards keep arriving from various pals..so nice to be remembered. If I had to be one second younger, I would only do it if I had already had Nam Myho Renge Kyo in my life, and if i knew at least half of what I finally do know now! To go back in time with any less knowledge would surely depress me into the ground, so YAY (say I) for the wisdom that comes with age...and the peace attending that so-called wisdom, at least some of the time!!! Getting older really is good for some things...perhaps that is why the hair turns silver: as a reward! (Or, as so many women insist: it turns to gold...we have earned that gold!)
I still miss Barter....surely they think of us every now and again...and i truly hope the summer months are really really wonderful for them all down there. I begin to look forward to teaching a summer class at CAP 21, but not enough to want to teach a lot yet...I want a summer here to catch up on what the city has to offer during that time....and I want to go to some local Buddhist retreats and keep studying. I am not yet ready to get back into full swing...Paul D. hjas asked me to write down for him in an e-mail what it is I do want for my work and career...i will do that for him, and for myself...it will help me clarify and focus my true energies.
It is a constant plague of my life that in an effort to be useful I say yes to all things offered or asked of me...finally I understand that i will be more useful if I learn to say thank you, but no thank you......despite all my experience and mileage as a professional, I still feel the need to say yes in order to prove something to somebody...what and to who? Life is so much larger and I want to know more of it.
So Jury Duty, as prosaic as it may be for most people, always tends to open my eyes to parts of life I generally forget about. Like neighborhoods I never visit...there is so much life to see...tomorrow, my Birthday,I want to dedicate myself to knowing and experiencing MORE of everything! Opening up to the possibilities of always staying open!
I must admit, I am enjoying my downtown sojourn each day, as it a neighborhood i forget about except when i am down there on Jury Duty, and each time I have to be there, I enjoy it a lot...it has really spiffed itself up over the years I was away, and is now pretty chic and full of great stores,etc. Still the same old China Town and Little Italy edges, but on the whole, cleaner and better...gorgeous enormous sculptures everywhere, modern and passionate in design...and the Government buildings look sparkling clean and important. Tourist busses make regular passes through the neighborhood, and since 9/11, security is enormously in evidence in front of every building. It adds to the imposing nature of the entire scene.
Our little trial chugs on, and everyday I am amazed...that's all I can say for now.
Tonight, A Buddhist discussion meeting on 85th Street and i look forward to it. I have ben assigned the explanation of the practise for guests, and in boning up on it for my short presentation, I have learned and been reminded of so much in the way of why I more and more love to explore and be with this Buddhism. It makes such true intellectual and experiential sense to me, and the daily practise of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ( "I devote myself to the Mystic law of the Lotus Sutra) and the more I study and do Gongyo (study and intoning fo various parts of the Lotus sutra), the more my mind expands to levels of experience and understanding I never expected...like opening gift boxes every day. It fascinates and comforts me on so many levels of my life.
And speaking of GIFT BOXES!!!!: Tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY!!!!! YAY! And already a lovely gift box arrived from Japan with wine and foods from Chris Boyd, and cards keep arriving from various pals..so nice to be remembered. If I had to be one second younger, I would only do it if I had already had Nam Myho Renge Kyo in my life, and if i knew at least half of what I finally do know now! To go back in time with any less knowledge would surely depress me into the ground, so YAY (say I) for the wisdom that comes with age...and the peace attending that so-called wisdom, at least some of the time!!! Getting older really is good for some things...perhaps that is why the hair turns silver: as a reward! (Or, as so many women insist: it turns to gold...we have earned that gold!)
I still miss Barter....surely they think of us every now and again...and i truly hope the summer months are really really wonderful for them all down there. I begin to look forward to teaching a summer class at CAP 21, but not enough to want to teach a lot yet...I want a summer here to catch up on what the city has to offer during that time....and I want to go to some local Buddhist retreats and keep studying. I am not yet ready to get back into full swing...Paul D. hjas asked me to write down for him in an e-mail what it is I do want for my work and career...i will do that for him, and for myself...it will help me clarify and focus my true energies.
It is a constant plague of my life that in an effort to be useful I say yes to all things offered or asked of me...finally I understand that i will be more useful if I learn to say thank you, but no thank you......despite all my experience and mileage as a professional, I still feel the need to say yes in order to prove something to somebody...what and to who? Life is so much larger and I want to know more of it.
So Jury Duty, as prosaic as it may be for most people, always tends to open my eyes to parts of life I generally forget about. Like neighborhoods I never visit...there is so much life to see...tomorrow, my Birthday,I want to dedicate myself to knowing and experiencing MORE of everything! Opening up to the possibilities of always staying open!
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