Weekend Trip to Chicago - Christmas Time

Christmas Time in Chicago is lots of fun. It is also lots of cold. Indoor activities are really spectacular. While living in Longview TX, I traveled to Chicago for a long weekend to spend some quality time with some extended family.

An uncle of mine is was excited to visit the Driehaus Museum, and it being cold and me being interested in being indoors went along to see what the house had to offer.

Just stunning. Not something that is a top place to visit on any travel site but the home was perfect in every detail from the holiday decorations,

to the woodwork within the home 

and of course the highlight of the Tiffany glass every where you turned.

Racism in our judicial system with a sprinkle of sexism

Yesterday I participated for the first time in jury the jury selection process. I did not go into this process overly excited (I was missing an important meeting for work) or with the expectation that I would encounter discrimination.

I live in Gregg County Texas where (according to Wikipedia) 22% of population is African American, and 70% Caucasian.

The initial pool I would guess was around 100 people all who were called randomly by some computer program that pulls residents in to serve. I would estimate that 20- 40% of the 100 were African American.

33 of us were randomly selected by a computer program to appear for a civil case panel selection. Of the 33 of us I would say 10-15 were African American.

Already in the court room to support the jury selection process:

Judge - Caucasian (Male)

Courtroom assistant - Caucasian (Female)

Court recorder - Caucasian (Female)

Lawyers (3) - Caucasian (Male)

Defendant - Caucasian (Female)

Plaintiff - African American (Female)

Legal assistants (2) - Caucasian (Female)

Bailiff - African American (Female)

Observers (2) - Caucasian (Female)

Of the 13 non jury's in the court room, 2 were African American (about 15%). This slightly below average ratio could be explained by looking at the systemic challenges that face minorities creating a higher bar of entry into legal professions.

I was in the first 10 juror candidates a process randomly done by a computer program. 7 of us were Caucasian, 3 African American, a split reflective of the county demographics. 

The selection process was to select 6 jurors plus one alternate done by the legal teams (not a computer program). Of the first 10, one Caucasian and all three African Americans were dismissed, creating an all white jury with the only African American in the jury box the alternate who was the 11th candidate. 

My conclusions yesterday: 

- Computer programs do not make decisions with any racial motivation, people do.

- Racism is a real problem in our judicial system. Its deep and impacts all levels (think about the Supreme Court case this fall)

- systemic barriers for minorities to enter into the legal profession compounds the poor racial representation in a court room
- The power structure remains overly male dominated creating a sprinkle of sexism. 2 of the 7 selected jurors were female. The only woman in authority was the bailiff, all the other women in the court were in supporting roles for the men

Today we deliberated a decision, it was not unanimous as I felt strongly that the plaintiff was being under compensated. The other 5 jurors (all white & over 40) expressed sentiment that the compensation should be at a lower amount than I was comfortable with. Would the decision have been different if there was at least one African American in the room? Or another minority represented? What if one of the lawyers had been female or we had another female in the jury? In complete speculation I believe that the plaintiff would have been awarded several thousands of dollars more if a jury that was more reflective of the community had been chosen.

What are your experiences? what do you think?

Caddo lake

This is not my first trip to Caddo Lake, but every time I go I am amazed by how much there is to explore and how much I fall in love with it all over again.

The giant salvinia that have infested the lake remain creating a sharp color contrast withing the lake while adding a strange element of feeling that your on land while in your canoe,

 

Did I mention that there is no better way to explore this lake than with a friend in a canoe (can be rented from Johnsons Boat Rentals)

A map is a must is you plan to go very far, there are trails and islands and turns all over the lake, that even with a map can be a bit complex to navigate.

Spanish Moss and Cypres trees are a stunning experience and a must do it you can get here.

Port Aransas - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is not close to Longview/ Kilgore. In fact you would have approximately a 6 hour drive. But as a Minnesotan its much closer than I was as a child. This past Easter I went down and spent a long weekend exploring Mustang Island State Park at Port Aransas.

White sand and blue water made the gray skies fade from observation.  The city has things to offer but I would suggest that you plan to spend the vast majority of your time on the beach. A state park, national seashore and local parks give you lots of choice of where you can spend your days.

From Longview you can drive down on a Friday and get there with time to see the gulf before finding dinner. Saturday and Sunday can be spent enjoying the sand, dips in the gulf and adventures in the dunes. Monday you drive back and have time to unpack and do laundry before bed. Back to work by Tuesday with a lightness that only comes from the ocean.

Longview Hot Air Balloon Festival

East Texas is host to the National Hot Air Balloon Finals. This makes for a great week to be moving about the Longview area as for the whole week the sky is dotted with balloons.

At the end of the week a balloon festival takes place. 

It is more amazing than you think.

Arrive early to see the grounds and to check out the shops.

As the sun starts to set the balloons start to go up and your whole world becomes magical

Chimp Haven

I first heard about Chip Haven 3 years ago. I was reading about research chimps and the somewhat new legislation that says when they have reached the end of the time having research done on them they need to be given a safe place to live out the remainder of there lives. The article stated that only a few facilities in the United States were currently licensed to do this and one was just outside of Shreveport LA

I knew that I had to go visit. It turned out to be much more complicated than I expected. Chimp Haven believes strongly that their service to the chimps is not a zoo and as a result have very limited public access days. Advanced planning is a must, but the experience is well worth it.

Chimp Haven is a huge facility tucked behind a public green-space giving it the feeling of being even more secluded than it is. During public access days the chimps are lured to the viewing side with an excess of toys and treats, giving you as the visitor a really great animated experience.

Will I go again? Yes if I can make the schedule work

Advice for those living in east Texas: Visit Chimp Haven and pay extra for the hay ride. Plan a trip to visit the park outside Chimp Haven, bring your bike and enjoy the trails. If your like me and love to volunteer check the web site to see if you can be a parking attendant on public access days as a chance to give back to this really wonderful haven,

Hugo Lake State Park, Oklahoma

Water marks across the whole park

Late December I made the journey to Oklahoma for a day of exploring Hugo Lake State Park.

Oklahoma has experienced historic flooding over the past 12 months and the signs of this could not be overlooked

Sand on the sidewalk

Somehow this made the park more still than normal, silence broken only by the occasional rifle shot from deer control hunt going on in the land adjacent.

Water in a low area by a picnic pavilion 

The park itself has some fabulous infrastructure with pavilions, swim areas, cabins, tent sites, RV pads, boat docks, nature trails and play areas.

Debris in the parking lot

I spent about 4 hours exploring the different sections of the park mesmerized by the bleak experience of it all.

Well worth a visit, not worth the drive.