Released from Jury Duty and Issued a Summons -- Oh, Sweet Irony!

To quote Barbra Streisand singing "Sadie, Sadie" in Funny Girl, "Oy, what a day I had today!"

A brief rundown: I biked to the New York Criminal Court Building (100 Centre Street -- up top) and made excellent time. I waltzed in just a few minutes late and, unsurprisingly, hadn't missed a thing.

I wore my cotton herringbone twill suit with my black and white gingham shirt. Here's a rare "up the nostrils shot" taken from inside my briefcase (you're not supposed to use cameras inside the court building.

Now, while I've worn this suit quite a few times since completing it last month, I've never worn it all day. I learned a few things:

First, if you're going to bike in blue twill pants, beware unsightly seat sweat. (Maybe next time I'll wear Depends.) Fortunately, it evaporates quickly!

This is a summer suit, so although the jacket has a half-lining and the facings are interfaced, I did not add interfacing to the upper chest area. When the sun reflects off the dark fabric, one does notice drooping below the shoulder pads at the hollow between shoulder and chest, especially after a full day and lots of activity.

But let's get back to my jury duty.

After the usual spiel about the jury process and a review of our schedule for the next two days, we were left to sit...and sit...and sit. Nobody was called for any case. I read my New Yorker magazine and eavesdropped on other people's cellphone conversations. At noon, they said we could go to lunch an hour early and weren't expected back until 2:15 pm. I considered returning home and coming back but decided that would be too much biking-in-a-cotton-suit for one day, so I popped into the nearest Pret A Manger and grabbed a sandwich and coffee. I love to people-watch (and outfit-watch).

Believe it or not, just a few blocks from Pret is PS Fabrics (359 Broadway). With an hour to kill, I stepped inside. Although I'd been there before, I was surprised how many nice things they had and how good the prices were. And nearly everything is clearly labeled.

They also sell patterns, both new and out-of-print, and lots of notions, craft stuff, and yarn.

I love the City Hall area, which is adjacent to both Chinatown to the east and Tribeca to the west. I love the architectural mix too -- a combination of early 20th C. municipal buildings, 19th. C. cast iron, and postwar yuck. The weather today was glorious.

When I returned to the jury duty waiting pen, I checked my email and blog on one of their super-slow computers.

At 3 pm we were told we could go home, that we needn't return tomorrow, and that we wouldn't be called back for another six years. I was free!

I grabbed the nearest Citbike and hightailed it home. As I was riding up Hudson Street, a cop driving a yellow cab (pretty sneaky, huh?) pulled me aside and asked me if I knew I had run a red light crossing West 10th St. Honestly, I didn't but I can hardly say it surprised me: it has to be one of the sleepiest cross streets downtown. He issued me a summons -- my first ever. A summons on my way home from jury duty!

And that was my day today. I didn't sew, obviously, but since I don't have to appear in court tomorrow, I'm fine with it.

In closing, have you ever gotten a traffic ticket for bike riding?

Does this rankle you or do you think it's a good idea, bike riders not being particularly obedient when it comes to traffic laws?

Finally, do you ever bike ride in your good clothes?

Have a great day, everybody!