The courtroom was occupied. The hallway was busy with suited lawyers and supplicants in varied apparel from gaudy, shabby, to fresh, Wal-Mart fashions. No exclusive designer garments were apparent, save a couple of lawyers' suits. There was a smell of overpowering perfume and sweet aftershave, which conflicted with a bleach odor that I supposed came from the janitor's efforts.
The everyday working of the law industry is not as portrayed by sensation-driven media; "Law and Order" is fiction and "Court TV" is selective. The real working of mundane justice is raw-happenstance, with actual justice the occasional product.
"Vexation and trifling darnation!" Mr. Jones exclaimed on our entry to the crowded hall. Recovering his composure he asked, "Perchance we might adjourn to our former 'salon'?" He asked, much softened after his former testy frustration.
I solved our problem of an interview place, "Sir, I'll meet you at Tan Yard Branch, south of the Stonebreaker House. They have built a shelter there."
He looked puzzled, so I added, "Yes, sir, along Tan Yard branch they constructed a permanent shed-an open-air shelter-alongside the parking lot at the museum, the old Borden Milk Plant."
"As you say, I shall find the place." He nodded his head slightly and walked toward the courthouse stairs. His cane tapping echoed off the marble, unnoticed by everyone but me.
The drive was a mere three blocks. I situated myself at a picnic table. The mid-morning provided sunshine and a cool crispness that are the special gifts of an autumn morning.
In a bit of time, my visitor from the nineteenth century walked toward me with solemn precision from the north on Lincoln Street (old Spring Street). When he reached, me, he lifted his cane a couple of feet and pointed to his left, northeast toward the small stream behind me. Brambles, weeds, ambitious scrap bushes, and stunted trees lined the old limestone walls that protected the stream's banks.
"Town Spring is over yonder. It was the center from which this community functioned, sir, for many years. The good spring there offered those who settled here about the most vital element for life; agriculture and commerce, good water. Then, in the1830s, we found beneficial water from a fine spring a few miles south of town. The town prospered further."
Satisfied that he had grounded our session, he stood there for a spell looking from left to right. Knowing the place, he continued, "Over there, toward the northwest, Tan Yard Branch meanders all the way to the Petersburg-Howell Pike. Our shop was up that aways. That's where I met the General back in 1818." He paused as if to find what words he needed to use. It appeared to be a difficult task.