Entry 96: Strange Days in Much Ado About Nothing

Today is a strange day, but that was obvious yesterday. The Courthouse is quiet in a way that never appears on Tuesday. Tuesday is the beginning of all jury trials for this Courthouse. And yet none exist this week. None in District or District Associate. Which is astounding for this county. And the ruckus and commotion of Jury is a clatter that cannot be missed. So the absence of the thronging rabble is easily marked. Likewise, my own docket is shockingly empty in comparison. These past weeks, my Tuesday held hearings of record numbers! The courthouse was packed with the murmuring public bitching about being forced to be present. Literally hundreds of hearings and hundreds of people. Yet today? Even should all required appear (which is rare to the point of never happening) there would be only 25 hearings. ONLY 25 for today! This is… so few as to be alarming! In my entire career, this is a record low for certain and to offset and provide proof of such oddity: Tuesdays are always the heavier days. There should never be a week where Tuesday does not reign as the champion for volume; and yet- my Wednesday has more hearings than my Tuesday! Considering Wednesdays used to average between 20 and 30 hearings total; it is inconceivable that my Wednesday should be heavier than my Tuesday! And so the Courthouse is quiet. Quiet in a way that never appears on Tuesday.

I am hoping it is so, in that cosmic coincidence kind of way, to provide me additional time and energy for my evening task. To that, I find my mind to be an ever interesting organ! This morning I allowed YouTube to go in a random path as I woke up and it settled on “The Best of Alan Rickman in Dogma” also to be known as “Every Alan Rickman scene in Dogma”… and I was surprised at myself how much I still remembered! The lines, the intonation, the pausing. It lived deep in my mind in a place that I would not have accessed or known about but for the opportunity. And, while my memory is entirely fallible, I am realizing much the same for Much Ado About Nothing. I queued it to play as I slept last night, a trick I used to some effect in Merry Wives of Windsor and was surprised how much of it still lives within me. Though, I suppose that is no great surprise as I have watched the movie consistently from the age of around 8. I do this, in part, because I am confident that… even should I not receive the ideal part, I’ll still likely be cast. It is true that after failing a callback, I was not cast at all. That has happened to me. But for Shakespeare, never. And I can hardly see the wisdom in auditioning someone for a large role and then not giving them a smaller one should they be boxed out in a callback. THOUGH, I must be reasonable and admit that such a thing could easily happen. I just… I would be shocked to the point of dumb to have gone on this rollercoaster ride and wind up with nothing. As I said previously… even were I cast as Antonio or Verges (or the bloody Sexton), I would accept with humility and pleasure. So, that is my wish and my will at this moment. That I still benefit from memorizing the play as I cannot see myself being entirely removed.

Turning back to work matter, I find that my surprisingly shortened work load for today pushes me to my least favorite task much quicker. It is, of course, Voice Mails and E-Mails. This job already requires a great deal of paperwork, decision making, managing other people’s problems, and juggling the most irrational and demanding people in our community. And all of that before addressing the various ways of direct communication from them to me! So E-Mails and Voice Mails are little more than “Demands, irrational or otherwise, coming from people who are either Attorneys doing as they are required to (representing their client’s wishes) or Defendants themselves (people who already believe they are the exception to every rule and law and the type to demand special treatment for no other significant excuse than because!). That considered, it should be no wonder why it is one of the more loathsome tasks to go over the E-Mails and Voice Mails. Two forms of communication that I am permitted to postpone as the individual has no understanding of when I shall return to my office or have the proper time to respond. I do strongly dislike this element. But… cannot postpone forever. And on a day where the work that typically takes me until NOON is finished before 10 o’clock? I do, indeed, have the time sufficient to tackle such a loathsome task. And it should surprise no one that my phone calls all relate to TRUANCY cases. Bloody hell! Every parent wants to explain to me why their child was not attending school. As though I am the person that must be mollified to protect them. Except, and I do think I’m not thinking too much on this, IT IS THE SCHOOL THAT SHE HAS NOT BEEN ATTENDING that must be contacted. In what way does calling me to say, “Bullying” or “Anxiety” meet the requirements of the law? If the school is not suitable for your child, enroll them someplace else and follow proper protocols for doing so. Removing a 12 year old from school entirely without also Homeschooling is not in their best interest; no matter how you view it. My child doesn’t like, isn’t interested, can’t cope.... the Iowa Law may be foolish, stupid, and short-sighted… but removing a child from any and all education is unacceptable. What gets me on these, truly, is that we live in the age of GOOGLE and the INTERNET. If you receive a letter saying, “Your child has missed ALL the school and there are consequences based on Chapter 299 of the Iowa Code.”… then you might choose to, at the very least, have GOOGLE AI break it down for you. THE kneejerk reaction of “But my exception is exceptional because it’s me!” is foolish for a start and always bothers me. And for those with psychology backgrounds? Yes, I am most sensitive to Truancy Bullshit because it is one of the areas where I earnestly believe everyone involved is doing the wrong thing. A parent who will argue, tooth and nail, to prevent their student from being required to attend school? Bothers me. But the Iowa Government openly stating, and making it law, that DHS has nothing to do with Truancy under any circumstances is also one of the stupidest things I can think of. Children not going to school can often be due to abuse or neglect. In fact, MANY cases of active violence against a child are discovered because teachers at school discovered it! So, removing DHS from the matter entirely? Removing, even, TRUANCY OFFICERS and essentially saying, ‘Schools report to Attorneys, Attorneys file charges” is foolish! It is all more fallout from an Anti-Bureaucracy and Anti-Spending GOP Super Majority. They want to appear “tough” but simultaneously want to remove any organization that would actually be tough or solve any problems. A conundrum for the intelligent, an easy diversion for the clinically stupid. “Defund, eliminate, and consolidate until a thing is broken. Then complain that a thing is broken so we need to privatize it!” But as I’ve said since Omaha… there is no profit in protecting children. You can’t make money removing children from dangerous places. The profit comes from making parents take classes at a location you control.

But our system as it is is broken. Chiefly, I was just informed of one of our Bestiality Cases. Yes one of since we have more than one currently ongoing. A man drugged his dog w/illegal cannabis gummies and had sex with the dog. A horrified neighbor filmed it. So.... drugging a defenseless animal, fucking a defenseless animal, and all the evidence that it happened. The State, not surprisingly, requested Prison. The Court gave the man Residential Facility. Which means… he’s at a place where he is supervised, but can come and go for work or what have you until Curfew. And if he isn’t back by curfew, then they charge him with Voluntary Absence and it’s a whole new charge with whole new sentencing and a whole new argument on whether he should be in “more restrictive custody”. And as much as I can bitch about how our Sentencing is light and bullshit? It, too, stems from this Super Majority No-Spending bullshit. Our jails/prisons are more than 75% over max occupancy. A person is sentenced to 2 years of prison and gets out in less than 100 days because they don’t have the space! So Judges are encouraged to not use Prison, even if the crime may be a perfect example of a person that should be there. And I’m not saying “Everyone in Prison deserves to be there.” Iowa still considers Marijuana, in almost all cases, to be illegal. So, if we have these “dangerous Marijuana users” in Prison… we’re not doing ourselves any favors. But Kimmy has been firm in “the Devil’s lettuce” being considered an “evil that should not penetrate Iowa” so… we’re screwed there. Literal Dog Rapists essentially go free because the 24 year old selling weed needs to be locked away for 30 years. We can’t keep the Domestic Abuser in jail for more than 2 days; but we’re looking to put the parent of a Truant Kid in jail for 10. Do we not see the wildly disproportionate idiocy here?!

Even still with everything, I was finished with my TODAY work prior to lunch. I have my hearings after lunch and have scheduled some “Get Ahead” work for afterwards. We shall see if the Get Ahead Work takes me to closing or if I can then add additional work for getting ahead. I must remember to bring a water bottle with me this evening as, should the Shakespeare Nervousness return, I do not wish to be so dry of mouth that it interferes. It is funny… when I realized this week would be a light week, I assumed there was some higher purpose for it that I would see in time. THIS certainly feels like that. A lighter week so that I may prepare and pray for this evening. Of course, I do struggle with memorization thus my fear is amplified. But I have so much of this play in me from my long time adoration. Though, as ever, struggle to memorize the FIRST line of anything.
If Signior Leonato be her father, she would not have his head on her shoulders for all Messina, as like him as she is.

So… lunch happened. I didn’t go home for it. But I got food. Then came back to work. Finished in record fucking time since this was a record number of hearings on the opposite side as the last few weeks. So it inspired an e-mail to the other Government Members that are part of these hearings. Because… we can’t sustain 200, 300 plus people hearing days. It is untenable and unsustainable. We average around or below 40% attendance in these huge hearing days. We had a record low number of hearings scheduled, and 80% of the people showed up! If we can re-form the program to work for the people who want it to work while eliminating the people that don’t care.... the program can keep working. It’s just… how to re-form the program in that way? Five Years Ago: The Prosecutor had little to do. The DOT would meet with the people who would talk to the Public Defender and the Public Defender would talk to the Prosecutor and we would sign off on an agreement the judge filed. The DOT hasn’t been involved since COVID and the Public Defender’s Office stopped staffing these hearings in 2022! So it has been ME and the judges trying to keep things going. And as we’re starting to see an influx in people who have no idea what they’re doing, people who don’t care if they every get their licenses, and people who literally will not stop driving so that EVERY DAY they get more charges.... we need to respond. We honestly have a guy who gets a new driving charge every 3 days. If every charge puts him in the program, his ONE appearance can equal 22 cases! These are issues we need to consider.

So… I spent time doing that. And while my afternoon was relatively wide open to get a jump start on tomorrow- I didn’t get quite as much done as I would have thought given the ample time. But I’ll blame the “How do I make this program work” for that and consider it time well spent.

The current plan is to go home, give Nala a good girl treat, disappoint her terribly that no- not only are we not going to the Dog Park because nobody is there today (too cold and windy) but I’m not staying. Then eat a quick something and hop in the shower. Take a refreshing, cleansing shower, find a better shirt to wear to the call backs and head over and take care of those! After that? Back home for Dishes and Laundry! Or at least… that’s the plan.

I returned home, gave Nala a quick GOOD GIRL treat (though, my inspection was not thorough enough) and ate a quick Diet Freezer Meal and hopped in the shower. Showering off the Courthouse was a good feeling! I then got dressed and left. While I was in the shower, Nala was patrolling. Checking to see if she could lick water out of the tub then checking the Living Room Window, then checking the bedroom, then back to the bathroom. As I got dressed, she sat, perched in her chair staring out of the window. I left and went to the theater.

UGH! I cannot put it into words and fear I need this more each year! There is a REASON great Shakespeare performers work in troupes! Because the people that know this shit are unique enough that we get along famously! At this specific call back for Benedick and Beatrice, we had: A good friend who played Mistress Ford during Merry Wives, the woman who played Brutus last year in Julius Caesar, one of the young men from Caser last year, myself, and the woman who played Anna in Book Club Play (and Mark Antony in Julius Caesar). So, people I like and people who are dear to me. FRANKLY as I rehearsed the sides in my mind, I was imagining Anna in the role of Beatrice as.... were I other than I am, I would certainly be attracted to her and respect her mind and heart a great deal. She is lovely to play off of in a scene. That being said, the two men read with all three women and that is the way it went. TWO men being considered for Benedick was a shock as I anticipated more. And the man opposite me has a very different take, which is neither better nor worse. That is to say, he has as equal a chance as I. And while I can say that acting is a talent and hobby, I will RARELY (if EVER) feel like an audition captures that. Even an audition like this for a character I have considered in so many different directions. And that is life. We see our failures more easily and for some, they are neon and we can see little else. As to the women? They all had their strengths and their charms. I must confess our Brutus, though, gives me pause for the role of Beatrice. She may say it is due to her size and while that is not correct, it is not entirely incorrect. She is a larger person, but she matches that with a larger voice. One of yelling and bellowing. Which- is certainly a way you can play Beatrice but not a way I would typically go. As to the other two? I think a lot of it lies in the chemistry and the play. As I have played opposite them both before, I think either would do well. And, bless me or curse me for this, I have strong feelings that whomsoever is not cast as the Beatrice/Benedick pair will still get cast in the show anyway- and most of the roles for this endeavor are GOOD roles. You have to go down the cast sheet considerably before finding anyone that could say they don’t think they spoke enough in this show- it is very talky! But it was wonderful being back around people I enjoy, can chat with, can laugh with. Theater, as discovered every time, is truly a HOME for me. That is the feeling repeated and clear. It feels like HOME.

Upon my return, I gave Nala another treat as I saw no destruction nor concerns and gathered my laundry. Bringing it downstairs, I discover that Nala had pooped in the laundry room. Many commend her choice and I can’t fault them. In this house, whenever she poops indoors, it is almost always in the laundry room as it is the only place of just concrete floors. So, she’s not hurting carpet or tile and it is the easiest place to clean up. But still… pooping indoors. It is the entire reason I bought the baby gate, but she’d been doing so well these last few months, I started to think it wasn’t necessary. The consistency and temperature make me think she did it during the Lunch Hour when I did not come home. So… I can understand how that is on me as not coming home is an interruption to her routine. And a significant one as I think about it. I had been coming home during lunch so routinely, that she started eating all of her food in the morning. Knowing I would refill it at noon and give her an opportunity to poop out the excess. This afternoon, on my original inspection, I even noted aloud that Nala hadn’t eaten all of her food yet and presumed it was because I didn’t come home for lunch. So… these things happen. Cleaned that up. Started laundry. Played outside with Nala a bit. And considered my evening. Whether I would do dishes and all of that or not. The cleaners come on Friday so I have to do a Cleaner Clean by then. Just making decisions when to do what tasks.

Oh, also, as to the fourth? I will be going to a protest on the 5th but I am considering getting smack hammered the night before. April 4th has a rough history with me and I am considering honoring it in my own way. Likewise however, I am also noting that Laura and I are still doing a strange tango in texting. Many things to do, see, or enjoy together; but the conversations are stilted and odd. I am considering seeing if we want to do something on Sunday, but I fear that the recommended “Perfect Mid Point Between The Two Distances” is.... the town where I lived previously. Which is not in itself a harm; but I always hesitate when suggesting the imposition of “meeting me somewhere” if the travel takes more than 30 minutes. We shall see, though. I can worry about the weekend plans after I get through Wednesday first, right?