Comedy at the Courthouse, Part II.

Waiting for the courtroom to open its doors, the attorneys anticipating their oral arguments were emanating a tension that was palpable.

To add to the drama, the large building in which the Second District sits was making evacuation annoucements.

Since the building had a several story atrium in the center, the acoustics were not ideal. Even through the muddled and echoing sound, I heard in addition to "evacuation" the key words, "This is only a test" interspersed with ear-drum-splitting sirens.

However, the tight-as-a-drum gentleman standing next to me, who looked like Adrien Brody of The Pianist fame, evidently did not hear the qualifier, "This is only a test." With a panic-stricken countenance, he turned to me just before bolting to the exits and asked, "Did I hear correctly, did they just say 'evacuation'"?

I replied, "They did say 'evacuation', but I guess you didn't hear the part about it being a test." He looked only mildly relieved.

I guess that meant he would actually have to make his argument.