Out and about

I've been on jury service call all week, and yesterday I was called in to LA County Superior Court in Los Angeles. My name was never called to be on a jury panel, so I sat in the jury service room until 4:00 in the afternoon. Not the most exciting way to spend a day, but not so bad either. We were given an hour and a half for lunch, so I wandered over to Olivera Street where Los Angeles was first established, peaked into the old cathedral where noon mass had just begun, and looked around the stalls of Mexican handicrafts and trinkets.

Then I popped into a chain bookstore to find "airport reading." In the morning I'd tried doing some serious reading I'd brought along with me, but it was too difficult to concentrate. The selection was pretty paltry—I'm spoiled living in Pasadena with its independent and specialty bookstores. I found Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. It is good mulling material.

Having sat for way too many hours yesterday, this morning I pulled my bike out of the garage, dusted it off, went to a nearby gas station to pump up the tires (they were too flat for my little foot pump to handle), and then rode over to the Farmer's Market. I've always thought I should ride my bike there but never had until this morning. It is so lovely riding through the pretty neighborhoods along the way. I've figured out a route that avoids major streets except to cross them.