by Angela Blair

Created on: January 16, 2010

It was more than Texas hot in the courtroom; it was East Texas hot. The antiquated window air conditioner had ceased functioning years ago but had been left in the window to keep hope alive for all those forced to sit in the ancient judge’s courtroom in the humid summer heat.

The judge himself was as antiquated as his air conditioner. He was tall, frail, and wore tiny gold-rimmed glasses that repeatedly slid down his aquiline nose and were incessantly pushed back up with a bony index finger. The robe he wore was probably black in it’s infancy but having celebrated as many cleanings as the judge had birthdays; it was now a strange shade between gray and a rancid brown.

Having sat on the same judicial bench since both he and the bench were pups in the legal community; the old man had pretty well seen, heard and experienced all the eventualities common to senior members of the judiciary. Although ancient, he was quick witted, clever and resolute and was known for his quick comebacks and no-nonsense attitude. With no expectation of anything new or earth shatteringly interesting; the old man would nod off from time-to-time out of sheer boredom.

Amidst all the cases he’d endured for 50 years there was still one, however, that never failed to draw the ancient judge’s undivided interest; the divorces of the wealthy - complete with details of lying, infidelity, large sums of money and property to be doled out.

On that hot, humid, July morning, just such a case was on the docket. When the judge took the bench he was somewhat disappointed as rather than the flashy, and hopefully interesting, couple he’d imagined, he stared down at a most average looking middle age pair. The plaintiff, a farmer-type and the defendant, a plump, middle-aged, woman, were comfortably ensconced at separate tables with their respective lawyers.

After the usual courtroom opening formalities; the case began. The judge was soon listening to some of the most harrowing matrimonial tales of infidelity and sexual escapades, by both parties, he’d ever been privy to and it wasn’t long until he was sitting on the edge of his bench in anticipation of the next accusatory finger to be pointed. Apparently a rural background hadn’t prevented the plaintiff and defendant from living lives akin to over sexed minks.

The sexual exploits of the pair, however, were beginning to get a bit repetitive by the time the lunch recess rolled around and the judge gratefully

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