17 March 2005 (Thursday)
just slightly off-beat
I'm still trying to figure out why my alarm didn't go off this morning. Maybe my clock knew it's Evacuation Day and the Suffolk County courts are officially closed. No matter...I'm at work today (can we say, "comp day," class?) and even arrived more or less on time.
It was amazing walking into the building this morning, with almost no one here. The center of the building is open from the second floor up through the next four levels (some of which are double-high) to the glass peaked roof, and almost nobody was milling around the stairs or leaning over the railings, papers in hand or lawyer by the side. I looked in every direction and saw the potential of justice...the fresh anticipation of a world ready to be made right, unsullied by the reality of ill intentions and inevitable broken hearts. The space was open, open, open to sunlight and the public, though both would be speaking today only to the idealized audience of a perfect tribunal. It was almost enough to stir up a childish urge to skip across the atrium calling out "Hellooooo!" at the top of my lungs just to hear the echo. Almost.
I unbuttoned my coat and continued up the stairs, passed through the doors to my court's administrative area, sat down at my desk, and realized that I'm wearing green.
Begorra! I assume you skipped the corned-beef-and-Swiss sandwiches we got at work for lunch today ;-)
It was multigrain bread and cheese for me...
