Citizenship isn't a free ride but you might just wind up with free coffee and donuts too

All’s well that ends well, especially when one doesn’t end up in the slammer for contempt of court.

Who knows whether it was the ignorance of youth or the arrogance of bratdom that prompted 19-year-old Houston college student Kelsey Gloston to avoid federal jury duty. Avoid seems a bit too polite. It seems like Gloston was telling U.S. District Judge David Hittner and his staff where he could put his gavel and his robe.

Gloston could have probably shirked jury duty at one appearance she made at court before she told the clerks she had a flat and then later hung up on them. But no, that is not what she ended up doing, according to the linked story above.

Some may say Hittner was on a power trip. Maybe. But there are places where judges are hard pressed to fill up a jury box. If everyone did like Gloston …

I was living one of my most impoverished periods when I first got called up for a jury. I didn’t have money to put gas in my truck and I lived about 12 miles from the courthouse, out in the boonies. So here I was wearing this suit, hitching a ride to town. Didn’t have any trouble getting a ride whatsoever. I filled up on the donuts and enjoyed the coffee the jurors had those two mornings. They bought us lunch and dinner one day. Plus, we got paid for it!

But I would never try to avoid jury duty, I am kind of a civics geek, and a proud citizen of this country like that. Your ride here in this country isn’t totally free. The “patriots” say “freedom isn’t free.” Neither is running a society. But you get this country and donuts too? Shoot man, that’s not a bad deal at all!