Nearly six years into my Collin County, Texas, residency and I finally — finally! I am telling you — received a jury summons.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I want to be selected to serve on a trial jury.

I came close once to getting selected for a trial jury. It occurred in Amarillo back in the late 1990s. I got the summons, reported for duty, then got herded into a jury pool waiting room where we cooled our jets for most of the day.

Then the judge who managed the jury selection, 47th District Judge David Gleason, excused us. I must have been the only juror wannabe who expressed disappointment at that moment.

You see, I long have been fascinated by the criminal justice system. I have wanted to serve on a jury since the time I first became eligible, which I guess was when I turned 21 years of age.

I never received a jury summons when I lived in Oregon. I have received several of them since moving to Texas in the spring of 1984. Except for the near-selection in Randall County, my other summonses ended with a “don’t report” order, meaning the court system didn’t need me that day.

I suppose I could seek an exemption based on my age; I am 75 years old now and I do not have to report. I won’t do that. I want to serve on a jury.

My reporting time is about a month away. I am going to hope for the best and hope they need me to do my duty as a citizen. Hey, it’s the least I can do.