My Plate is Full

I took this picture at the Lompoc Amtrak station. You will note that there is NOTHING there.

Well, nothing in terms of buildings or other structures generally associated with a train station. You can not buy a ticket there.

But you can see the track go on into the horizon. Just like the ocean that is next to it.

That day it was a bit foggy and I had driven out there as I waited for the courthouse in Lompoc to open for the afternoon. I was to be appointed by the court on a new case.

I like that. It gives me the chance to help someone. It helps me pay my bills. Yada, Yada, Yada.

What the clerk didn't tell me was that it was ANOTHER homicide.

They seem to like me for this kind of case.

But today I realized that I had quite a few of these cases on my desk. I had three active homicides, two attempted homicides and all of them were multiple defendant cases.

I began to feel a little like the picture. Vaguely foggy, on a track heading into the horizon, forever.

Then I got to work and the feeling went away.

Nothing makes me happier than delving into a case with both hands and my mind racing about what happened and why. Who did what and what were they thinking. More important, is there evidence of what they were thinking.

Yea, I got a lot on my plate.  My brain is hungry.