Goes against my grain.

The more I travel and meet people in other countries, the more I feel like a citizen of the world. An Earthling. Not merely an American. I’ve transcended nationality. Anyway, I’ve been called to jury duty. And I’m to fill out a form. I'm to check my nationality. And I decided to write in ‘human being’ and ‘Earthling.’ Maybe that’ll get me into trouble and out of jury duty. But then, I’m also given the option of opting out. By age. If I’m 70, I am allowed to refuse to serve. Yes, the privilege of age, I guess. Or is it age discrimination? The judicial bureaucracy also wants to know whether I’m married. And if so, my wife’s occupation. Jeanne died almost three years ago. But still, I checked the box that lists me as married. And I listed Jeanne’s occupation as ‘fulltime spirit.’ So yes, I’m married to a spirit. Feels darn good. But that doesn’t stop me from being in love. With another woman. Someone still on Mother Earth and very much alive. For that matter, I’m totally in love with life, period. Oh, so many ways to get out of jury duty. I’ll claim I’m crazy. A flake. That should be a major disqualifier. But being a citizen of the world means I don’t have to live solely by an American credo. I can apply world standards, and maybe even rules from the spiritual realm. Besides, I’d hate to sit on a panel that’s supposed to judge other people. Goes against my grain. –Jim Broede