Waiting to pass through the security chute at the new Collin County Courthouse for jury duty, I wondered why this was the first event on my summer vacation itinerary. Shouldn't I be beached on the sand sipping a parasol-garnished frozen concoction?
Not the moment for applying sunscreen and searching for my lost shaker of salt; alas, I was on the case in McKinney. To be honest, I was hoping to be off the case, but staying philosophical should I be selected for a jury, the duty of every citizen.
There's a life-size bronze statue of Col. William Barrett Travis in the courthouse lobby, drawing his famous line in the sand with a life-size cocktail sword . "Bronze" plus "sand" should equal tan, relaxed, and buff, but those of us gathered in the Central Jury Room are chubby, irritable, and pasty.
The legend goes that Travis called the defenders of the Alamo together to announce that reinforcements would not be coming. The District Clerk announced there would be no coffee, let alone donuts.Travis drew his sword to make a line in the dirt, asking all who were ready to stay and die to cross the line. One person declined to cross, but escaped over the Alamo wall, and lived to tell the tale.
I've never made a clothespin Col. Travis, but I suspect it would be much like making a clothespin Captain Jack Sparrow. Wish I'd thought of that for all those times when my middle school sons had to do Texas history projects!
When my sons were about middle school age, they had a computer game called "Battle Bugs". The bugs marched around on a picnic blanket planting toothpick flags to a theme song forever implanted in my brain. I don't know if the battling bugs ever had cocktail parasols or swords. Maybe they drew their own line in the powdered sugar defending a box of donuts.
Two songs are battling now for control of my mind. Will the "Battle Bugs" theme conquer Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville"? Shouldn't this internal struggle render me unfit for jury duty? I don't even like donuts, but I'm ready to climb the walls to get a glazed one with a cup of black coffee!
...The alluring odor of last week's pizza lies heavy in the air. Antennae strain and agony etches lines of pain into the faces of the cockroaches. With monumental effort, these warriors raise the flag above the carnage in the pepperoni. This is Battle Bugs. A game of military strategy where insect troops rage across tabletops and storm junk food targets. Standing in their way are legions of enemy bugs, armed to the teeth. You - and your battle smarts - guide your troops to glory. Will your armada of spiders cross the cola lake in time to save the flag? Will the suicide run of a kamikaze mosquito take out the praying mantis? At what cost? At what price victory? We Will Fight In The Pizza. - We Will Fight In The Cookies. We Will Fight In The Coleslaw. We Will Never Give Up.
© 2008 Nancy L. Ruder
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