I will confess to being just a tad starstruck

Big doin's today at the 7MSN.

Flash back to 2007, Albuquerque Federal courthouse...
In all the times I had been summoned, I had never been selected to be on a jury. Until now. And I was dreading every minute of it. I would have to make the 150-mile roundtrip commute every stinkin' day until the trial was over. I would have to wear adult clothes for many days in a row. I would be trapped in a room with people, not animals, during endless breaks and recesses. And to add insult to injury, the single most obnoxious human being I had ever met in all my 50-some years was a fellow juror. I truly thought I would not survive.

But early on in the trial, as I sat in the jury room during yet another recess, reading a book with my fingers plugging my ears, trying not to listen to the single most obnoxious human being I had ever met in my life, a female juror struck up a conversation and asked, "How do you like that book?" (It was "The Owl & Moon Café" by Jo-Ann Mapson). I said, "I'm loving it. It's written by one of my favorite authors." To which the juror said, "Really? She's a very good friend of mine."

Well, if that didn't just change my mind about jury duty. Turns out my fellow juror – Judith Ryan Hendricks – was a fascinating person and accomplished author in her own right, and we were drawn together by an intense dislike for the obnoxious human being in the room.

After four or five arduous days, we pronounced the defendant guilty and Judi and I went on our merry ways, grateful to have made each other's acquaintance and for never again having to breathe the same air as the planet's most obnoxious human being.

Flash forward to February 2009...
I received an e-mail from Judi announcing the release of her latest book, "The Laws of Harmony." I sent back a congratulatory message, then received this e-mail (yes, it's still in my in box):

...I have excellent news: Jo-Ann Mapson and her husband have moved to Santa Fe...I’ve told her all about your ranch and our adventures on jury duty. We’d love to drive down and see you this spring sometime. Are you up for visitors?

Hell, yes!

Spring turned to fall, and we finally got organized. Guess who's coming to the 7MSN today?



The house is clean, lunch is almost ready, a Key Lime pie is about to go in the oven, and there's a great big bottle of pinot grigio chillin' in the fridge. I get to spend the day in the company of two fabulous women who write about fabulous women. Now how stinkin' cool is that?