Bonjour Paris

Kalypso and I are in Paris trying to blend in with the locals.

We've found Paris to be very expensive, so we tried to make some of what the locals call $ argent $ by playing French music near the Eiffel Tower. It didn't work, so we tried to pretend that I had Tourette's Syndrome. Still no money from the stingy Parisians. Sacre Bleu! Watch and learn mes amis:

Back to Jordan

Kalypso and I are heading off to Jordan. Tomorrow we fly to Paris where we'll stay for a few days, and then we're off to Jordan. We'll be joining some old friends in the south of Jordan conducting an archaeological survey in the Wadi Barqa. Haven't been in Jordan for about 10 years, and can't wait to get back. It's such a magical place.

Jury Duty, Wasps, and Allegations of a Supreme Court Nominee's Racism

Jury duty is finally over, thank God. It was emotionally draining and I continue to think about the ramifications of the verdicts upon which I voted. We were asked to make decisions after being presented with a very limited amount of information. We could ask no questions, and we couldn't even take notes. Moreover, I don't have much confidence in the idea that people are tried by a jury of their peers. I vividly remember being in the jury pool room and suddenly the entire room broke into applause. Turns out some guy had spun some wheel on the game show Price is Right and he won $1,000 or something. I wouldn't want game show fans to decide my fate. Also, the worlds that I heard about while serving on juries, a world where children have access to drugs and guns on a daily basis, where friends and family are lost to gun violence, I don't consider myself a peer to people from that world. I can empathize but I have no idea about the hard realities of that life. The experience reminded me of Aristophane's famous comedy Wasps, where the elder Philocleon gains pleasure from bringing guilty verdicts on the younger generation. However, I gained no pleasure.

My bad experiences on jury duty also make me think of the controversy surrounding Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. She said in a previous speech "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Some have called her a racist for this statement. But I agree with her. Her experiences would make her better suited than me to judge others from that background. I by no means am advocating separate courts for separate classes, but I would argue that there needs to be diversity on all levels of the judicial system.

Service Learning and Biblical Studies

I recently published an article entitledService-Learning, Biblical Studies, and Resurrecting Flooded Bones in New Orleans on the Society of Biblical Literature's Forum site.

Hurricane Party & Anniversary & Celebration

June 1st if the beginning of hurricane season, but it's also the day Therese and I got married back in 1991. Moreover, tomorrow we're celebrating the promotion and reception of tenure of my good friend Mark Gstohl. Come by to celebrate anytime after 5 PM. 215 S. Alexander Street. Kids are welcome, and we'll have Woody the oyster shucker/SUCKER, red beans and rice (it's Monday), crawfish Kalypso, plenty of beer, wine, booze, and assorted things that most of America would frown upon. The more fun we have, the less likely we are to flood. Any questions can be directed to my cell phone, 504 377 7284. See you soon.

Sticking My Saints Neck Way Out There

Reports from the Saints training camp tell of a new attitude with the Saints defense under the leadership of Greg Williams. Like many Saints fans, I have been more than frustrated with the play of cornerback Jason David. He's currently listed on the second team, and he's broken so many hearts so many times giving up the big play that I couldn't believe he's still on the roster. But what if, and this is a big what if, but what if Jason David has a great year due to better pass rush and linebacker containment. With the return of their explosive offense and what seems to be the skeleton of a good defense, I've got a good feeling about 2009 at this early date. Hope springs eternal.

Bart's Bike Trail

Congratulations to Bart Everson, president of the Friends of Lafitte Corridor. I just heard that the Louisiana Legislator's budget has allocated $2.6 million for the trail. The goal is to be able to bike/walk from Armstrong Park to City Park along an abandoned rail line. My family and I will be marching in the 5th annual Hike of the Lafitte Corridor. Fee free to join us.
Here's a picture of the hike in 2006:

Funeral Shift

I've noticed lately that the funerals I attend have changed. It used to be that friends of my parents were passing away. Such is the case with my Uncle Dick, who passed away last week. He was my dad's younger brother. That generation of Homan siblings has gone from four down to one. We are driving to Nebraska to attend his funeral on Monday. I have many fond memories of him, as his family had a cabin on the Platte River very close to our cabin. I mostly remember him laughing. He had a great laugh, and very kind eyes. But gradually these types of funerals have been replaced with funerals for friends and people my age. Such is the case with the wife of a Xavier colleague who passed away last week. She was one of the kindest people I know, and her passing after a long battle with cancer seems pointless. Next week Therese will be attending the funeral of a Lusher Middle School student, someone she used to teach just a few short years ago. That just makes me angry. At the age of 43, I am now entering the age at which people stop saying "He died way too young" and entering the realm of "He led a full life." Like King Gilgamesh realized 5,000 years before me, death sure sucks.

Barathon

Usually I'm cynical about such things, but how could this not be destiny? Six bars, six beers, six miles. I've been training my whole life for two of those three things. Therese has vowed to beat me. We shall see...

Jury Duty Weighs Heavily

On Tuesdays and Thursdays in May, I report at 8:30 AM to Broad and Tulane where I check in to the jury pool at the Orleans Parish criminal court. I have never been asked to do jury service prior to this. Twice I have gone through the Voir Dire process, and last week I was chosen to sit on a jury during a criminal trial for a young man charged with possession of heroin and possession of a firearm by an ex-con. The trial lasted two days, and when we deliberated, I spent several hours convincing the other jurors that the accused was in fact guilty, and that the police were not setting him up. In the end we handed down a guilty verdict for the heroin charge, and the jury was one vote shy of a guilty verdict on the firearm, so in essence we were "hung."

I feel bad for the young man who will no doubt return to prison, a place where he has spent several years already. I am upset with him for putting me in the position to have to decide his fate. He has clearly made some poor choices. On the other hand, he has grown up in a world that is very foreign to me, a world where guns and drugs and violence are commonplace. I am also upset with the system. Juries are asked to make decisions without being privy to important factors in the case. I would have liked to have asked several questions to both the defense and prosecution. In the end it was like we were given a few glimpses into the events that transpired but we couldn't have access to everything. So I played a key role in sending another young African American man to prison in New Orleans, where we have more people locked up per capita than anywhere else in the world. I feel bad about that. I would feel worse perhaps if worked to free the defendant and then one day read about him hurting someone at a future date. That's a lot of speculation, I realize, and probably shouldn't be relevant. People can change.

I was happy to be excused from the jury yesterday. I believe I was excused as I stated I had previously served on a jury that did not reach a guilty verdict. Fine by me. I report again for the fourth time tomorrow, and then I'll be half-way finished.