Jury duty a labor of love for mother

Erin Granat, a 24-year-old Post Falls mother of almost three, must wonder “Why me, Lord?” after being nailed with her third jury summons in four years. Each has arrived during a pregnancy, the latest a few weeks ago. Now, Erin usually doesn’t mind. Not only is she a patriot who believes in doing her civic duty, but she’s a stay-at-home mommy who doesn’t sacrifice financially when head bailiff Gomer Davis sends his greetings. After all, Erin explained on her blog, “Idaho Native,” she has relatives in the area who can watch her girls. Everything was going OK, until Erin’s oldest contracted tonsillitis the night before her jury duty and spent five hours in the hospital. Given her daughter’s condition, the two previous summonses and her history of premature deliveries, Erin tried to get out of jury duty. But Judge Fuddy Duddy said unh-uh. Luckily, one of the two counselors had pity on Erin and dismissed her. Wonders Erin: “How is it that some people go their whole lives and never get called? Or when they do their panel gets cancelled, and others like myself get called every few years?” That’ll teach Erin to become a jury duty target by exercising her right to vote and renewing her driver’s license.

Gotcha

After wolfing down $42 of food at the Perkins restaurant on Division in Spokane, two 20-somethings tried to skip out recently without paying. The scam began when one of the femmes left the table, and the other was presented with the check. Oh, said the remaining diner, my friend just stepped out to grab a cigarette. I’m going to join her. The waitress didn’t buy the act. So she followed the second scofflaw outside and wrote down the license number of the scammers’ car as they drove off with full stomachs – and a future date with a judge. Jon Livingston of Spokane witnessed the waitress going above and beyond the call of duty. But don’t ask him or Huckleberries how two people can gobble $42 worth of fare from a Perkins menu.

Dressed to win

After 49 years as a barrister, CdA’s Scott Reed can be forgiven for wearing wet swim trunks to the Aug. 26 confab with Judge James Judd and others involved in that landmark Sanders Beach case settled in the public’s favor Friday. After all, he couldn’t help but go for a swim off the beach during lunch – and the conference was conducted by phone. Scott added some dignity to the proceedings by covering his chest with a shirt … Huckleberries didn’t realize that Hayden was on Lake Coeur d’Alene until that factoid popped up in an AP story about the sale of the late Richard Butler’s home last week … Quotable Quote: “Everyone knows that to be a D around here you have to have plenty of faith and be a strong believer in prayer and miracles!” – County Clerk Dan English, the lone K-County courthouse Demo, disputing a Pew poll that said the public believes R’s hold to religious values better than D’s.

Poet’s corner

“A mighty wind,/a fearsome rain,/and now it’s part/of Pontchartrain” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“New Orleans”) … “I can’t take out a third mortgage/on my heart or consolidate my soul./The interest rates are too high./But I can budget my dreams/and clip a few more coupons./Watch for sales” – Bob Salsbury/Unbearable Bobness of Being (“Refinancing”) … Eternal Questions: “I saw a place advertising scoops of ice cream for 99 cents each. Reasonable, you say? I remember getting “Big Joe” ice cream cones at the Coeur d’Alene Albertsons, four scoops for 25 cents, back in the ‘60s. Allowing for inflation, do we have parity here? – CDADave.

Huckleberries

You may have seen that bumpersnicker warning others to hang up cell phones when driving or get it planted where the sun don’t shine. But have you seen it on a car driven by a femme on a cell? The hypocrite was spotted near the Kootenai County Fairgrounds last week … You may have heard that the 4.3-acre Elmira, Idaho, 18 miles north of Sandpoint, is for sale for a cool $675,000. But did you know the Elmira Store has a local reputation for quality burgers and shakes? So sez Marianne Love of Sandpoint, who enjoyed her first cholesterol-filled Elmira meal recently. And a customer informed her: “If you’re looking for healthy, you’re not gonna find it on the menu.” Read: Damn the calories … If you see a guy with a nearly shaven head, long gorilla arms and a gray “White Power” T-shirt walking through City Park slowly with a galpal, daring someone to protest, do what the crowd did on Aug. 28. Ignore him. Eventually, he went away – like the Aryan Nations did … Bumpersnicker (on a Chevy rig on Francis): “Break the habit – pay cash.”

Parting shot

At the North Idaho Fair, where thoughts should turn to bunnies, 4-H exhibits and the midway, four teen femmes discussed – stretch marks, or lack thereof. As a Berry Picker listened, one of the quartet mentioned her recent pregnancy, lifted her blouse to reveal stretch marks, and advised her friends to be careful about sex. A second then interjected that she didn’t have to worry about stretch marks because she’d terminated her pregnancy. She disclosed the info casually, as if she were discussing her favorite type of lip gloss. In other words, it’s not a choice, it’s a stretch mark.