Monday, May 17, 2010

Meeting At The Top Of The Stairs

I reported for jury duty at 8:00 a.m. but not a single name had been called by 9:45 a.m. I was tired of reading and coveting the laptops and fancy phones of those around me when I decided to get up and move around. Then, it hit me. I had my MP3 player and access to water. I headed toward the stairs.

My goal was to do 42 flights to mimic the Master the Met stairclimb. This guy sees me trekking up and down the stairs and asks How many times are you going to do this? I tell him that I am unsure.

At some point, I see a woman in the corridor on her cell phone. She is near the banister. I see her and she sees me. I think that I'm about 28 flights into this quest and as I'm heading up again, I'm getting ready to head to the bathroom to get rid of some sweat and she meets me at the top of the stairs with some tissue. I was unbelievably touched. She doesn't stop her conversation. She just matter-of-factly hands me the tissue. I keep going.

I also realize at this time that I am carrying goats under my arms. Goat carrying has become a running joke between Jessica, Patti and me. When we were rock climbing once, Patti said something about suspecting that her deodorant wasn't holding up. I was reading a back issue of Mental Floss and, unbelievably, came across an article about deodorant about a day after having the conversation with Patti.

3. The Roman poet Ovid preferred a more proactive solution. In Book III of the “Art of Love,” he cautions women against carrying goats under their arms.
Now, we joke about carrying goats under our arms because rock climbing will put your deodorant to the test.

I didn't care about the goat thing though. I kept climbing and, eventually, climbed 44 flights. I could have gone further but I was a mess. My back was wet. Sweat was dripping off my face. I did not have on wick away moisture clothing and it was chilly outside. As it turned out, the courtroom ended up being completely frigid. Really, I wanted to object -- big time.

While my clothing might not have been ideal, I did have on my very comfortable BOC shoes which allowed me to trek up the steps without discomfort.

I did reconnaissance for lunch and decided to go to Culinaria, a relatively new grocery store downtown that has gotten rave reviews. I almost freaked out when I saw how long the wait time was but it ended up being a much, much shorter wait. I was so glad that I took an apple and Greek yogurt to snack on because I was ravenous after the stairs.

I enjoyed being downtown as I usually do. I love the architecture and seeing one of my favorite landmarks from different angles. So, I had jury duty but I didn't take it sitting down. Yay!


(View from courthouse which had some strange barbwire-like covering over window)





Civil Courts from Citygarden



Side of City Hall



Old Post Office

What was your last encounter with random kindness?????

10 comments:

  1. wow- you are a rock star even waiting for jury duty! AMAZING way to get a workout in while BOREd & waiting! GREAT JOB! :)

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  2. wow I am wearing wicking wear next time I get called in...good idea

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  3. @TJ and @midlife_swimmer,

    Thanks ladies. :) I'm glad that the idea popped into my head. It was so cool to get in the exercise before I got home. And, midlife_swimmer, I need to start carrying some emergency workout clothes around with me...

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  4. AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!! I am sweating just thinking about your workout!! Great job!!

    ?Wonder if your legs will be sore tomorrow??

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  5. I am so impressed - not only with 44 flights of stairs, but with that lady's kindness. How wonderful!

    You are so smart to not just sit around but get up and move. I'm going to remember that the next time I'm sitting around the airport doing nothing!

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  6. hey! i'm a new reader. saw you on jack's site and i loved what you card said! ha!

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  7. @Fattie Fatterton,


    You're making me blush... :)


    @Diane,

    :o, I don't know what happened. I've climbed steps before with no aftermath. But today? I was walking the stairs gingerly and my calves are tender to the touch. I went swimming today but still felt the soreness in the pool. I'm glad that I did it though. :)


    @Diane Fit to the Finish,

    It's so hard for me to sit still these days. :) What a difference a couple of years make.

    I was definitely impressed with the woman's kindness which was just another affirmation that there are so many kind and good people in the world...


    @Alexia,

    Thanks for stopping by! Jack Sh*t definitely made me stop and think. While I've made a lot of progress, there are definitely things that I would still like to work on, including what I wrote on the index card. :)

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  8. **bowing in awe** at your resourcefulness with the workout, Woman!!

    Miz.

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  9. Miz,

    Thanks. :) I'm finding it hard to sit still these days. Who would have thunk it?

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