Wow. A long, draining day. We sat outside the courthouse waiting for something to happen for about ten hours. It was hot and miserable, even with shade and the blowing wind. Now that my molten Twix bar has been reconstituted in the hotel room fridge, I’ll attempt to recount the day. Mostly in photos. Stephanie says that I must have gotten good stuff, even if I’m too drained to consider the possibility.

Eldorado, TX – FLDS member Janet Jeffs arrives with an unidentified attorney at the Schleicher County Courthouse, where a grand jury reconvened to consider charges stemming from the raid on the YFZ Ranch.

I just realized something funny. A real switch in how this story is covered. We’ve gotten to the point where we know the names of the FLDS members but not the names of the attorneys. That’s a reversal from days past, when I knew who the attorneys were but not the people.

Here is the news from this morning. We pulled up to see the yellow tape around the courthouse pushed further back from before, and the sprinklers spraying the grassy area we wanted to set up. But it wasn’t all that bad, they have moved the grand jury into an adjacent building, apparently because it has air conditioning and we found a better angle for the new situation.

No air conditioning out on the grass, however. We’re sitting at a picnic table in the shade.

At one point Willie Jessop came over to talk to Brooke and all of the other reporters and photographers ran over and started asking him questions like, “Where is Merril Jessop?” It’s the kind of question that journalists ask, but it’s not like Willie would answer. He wasn’t out to make a statement, but promised one later. He just cocked his head and kind of laughed the probing questions off. It seems obvious that he’s been subpoenaed to testify. Why else would he be allowed beyond the yellow tape?

One other thing from this morning. While we were all distracted with Willie, the Texas Attorney General pulled up and entered the building. By the time we saw him and sprinted over to get the pic, it was too late. Only the guy from the Eldorado Success got the photo.

So tomorrow is part two of the grand jury show at the Schleicher County Courthouse. We are all wondering what will happen, though the general consensus is that we will see some arrests made in cases involving underage marriages performed at the FLDS Church’s YFZ Ranch.

I’ll try to blog from my folding camping chair on the courthouse grounds tomorrow, but it will depend on how busy things get.

I know that people on both sides of the issue must be nervous about tomorrow’s outcome. As a neutral observer, the only thing I need to hope for is shade and a cool breeze. Whatever happens, I plan to be there.