#64

So I've been locked in a Jury Assembly Room all week. Monday no one from our 165 members was called. Sat there for almost 8 hours on their uncomfortable chairs waiting for a call from judges chambers. Got some reading done but it was hard to concentrate with all those people chatting. Tuesday I got called to a courtroom but wasn't picked. 30 of us went up but only 14 were picked. Once again it was a long day with no other calls for everyone. Today there were two calls for court but everyone came back since a settlement was reached. I figured I was picked once so that will be it for me for the rest of the week. Fortunately I sit next to a very interesting fellow who's been chatty. I did manage to finish my book this evening. Two more days of sitting in the jury assembly room!!

Finished Rebecca Skloot's "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." This is a true story about Henrietta Lacks and her life and death. She was treated for cervical cancer back in 1951. Samples of her tumor were taken and her cells were the first to every continue to grow. To this day her cells are still growing and being used all over the world. They've been to the moon and blown up in a nuclear bomb. She's helped in the cure for polio and many other diseases. This all happened while her family was living in poverty and ignorance about what was happening with their mother's cells. Skloot researched the family and Henrietta's life and has written this accounting. Finally a face has been given to the HeLa cell.