| Tricks of the Trade© |
Morning edition Wednesday June 14, 2000 |
Painter on a Jury
Last week I got picked to serve on a juy-- Talk about a temporary life change!
At first I had a hard time accepting the fact, it seemed unfair to be required, on such short notice, to shift you life around, (and it's never a "good time") reschedule all your jobs, shuffle kids around (who just started their Summer vacation..) to sit in a courtroom from 9 to 5 for $5.00 a day! (I thought it was $5.00 an hour, I thought THAT was unfair.. ha ha) I realize that we would have a pretty good justice system if it weren't for the lawyers, I doubt the Founding Fathers had thought of "Slip and Fall" cases, I wonder if they are watching us. Sitting in court all day has made me think, and once again, I am feeling very happy with my chosen profession. I look at the lawyers, the judge, the clerk, the bailiff, the court reporter, and think, man I would HATE those jobs! The tension is incredible. Constant. The details are grueling and complicated. There are no windows and really bad light. I had a headache on the first day, and I hardly ever get headaches!
As painters, we always have the windows and doors open when we're not outside. We can listen to music and talk. We take our breaks when we want to, we don't have to sit in the same chair all day. We avoid tension, we don't have to think about what to wear or how to do our hair. (Ladies!! Do you all realize what a plus this is???) We are so free. That's how it feels to me anyway, I am really looking forward to going back to my painting life next week (hopefully) And I guess that is a really good sign. So Painters! Enjoy your freedom! Take a long lunch or stop work early! Dump a bucket of water over your head! Blast your favorite song! Wear your funky T-shirts and Dickies shorts with pride. It's nice to be free.
Diana Schraner
P.S. Totally unrelated, but I've been wanting to mention that I use my paint stir sticks to flick dried dog crap into a 5er... Another thing, it's supposed to get up to 114 degrees today.. I'm going for the bucket of water over my head!! Summer has arrived!!!
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