Jury Duty

 Jury Duty

I was called for a week of jury duty this month.  This was the third time I've had to do jury duty.  I don't mind doing it.  When I was working, it was like getting a paid vacation.  I had the same schedule, but I went to a different place where I could read and relax unless I was actually put on a case.  

Now that I am retired, it became a little more complicated as far as disrupting my routine.

On the first day, I couldn't ride with Ellen in the morning.  Due to the weather, it would be an indoor arena ride, so I wasn't really missing that much.  Cole would have the day off, and Ellen would take care of him.

Cole has gotten very attached to us, and if i'm at the barn--but not with him, he cries and cries and cries.  He actually starts crying about 10 minutes before I even arrive.  Once I get to the barn, I have to go to his stall right away, or he cries.  After I ride him, if I leave him to talk to someone, he cries.  If I turn him out, and he is alone, often he runs around--crying.  I've seen horses get upset when their equine buddies leave them, but I've never seen one get so upset when their human buddies leave them.  He is just a big baby.

Well, when Ellen showed up to ride, he expected me to be there, too.  When I didn't show up, he was frantic and cried out for me.  He was inconsolable.  They had to give him some hay to calm him down while Ellen was riding Dante.  If he has food, he doesn't care where I am at.

Cole loves Ellen, too, and he would have been completely happy if she spent all her time with him, but Dante needed her, too.  When she was done riding Dante, she decided to spend some time with Cole.  

Wisely, she didn't take him out of his stall right away.  He was so agitated, she felt he might act out.  Instead, she spent some time combing his mane and tail.  Once he looked completely beautiful, she brought him out of his stall.

She only planned to walk him around in the indoor arena.  With us, there is no such thing as just walking Cole around.  He wants to do tricks, and his favorite is "silly walk."  Ellen didn't want to spend the whole time doing "silly walk," so she started to teach him a new step.  She asked him to put his head down and walk in a slightly elevated style.  Once she explained it to Cole, he started to catch on.

Back in downtown Cleveland, there I was reading a book.  They called one jury after the next, and I still kept reading.  About 90% of the people had been called out of the room, and I started my second book.

The horse gods must have felt sorry for Cole and made sure I wasn't called up.  At the end of the day, they said that all the necessary juries were filled up, and we could go home--and not come back--jury duty was over for me.

Cole is a lucky horse.