The news trucks were idling in front of the Centre County Courthouse by early Monday morning, and were still inhabited into the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Four a.m. wasn't a moment of rest for the weary, just another opportunity to prepare for the barrage of chaos that the morning would provide.
Seven a.m. brought the onslaught of photographers and writers upon Bellefonte. The journalists assumed control of the courthouse steps, waiting for a speaker to rush out with updates. The photographers lined up at the rear, the building's parking lot cut in half by a green series of barricades. One side was cleared so Jerry Sandusky, and his lawyer Joe Amendola, could park along with the other characters involved that day. The other half was littered with cameramen from every local television station and freelance photojournalists.
The man of the hour was expected sometime before 8:30 a.m. for the beginning of jury selection. Fittingly, the misting rain and fog doused the hill that the back entryway of the courthouse rested on. All those in attendance ran for umbrellas, plastic bags, jackets; anything that could keep their equipment dry for the big moment.
He's two to three minutes away, said one bystander. A news team had tailed the vehicle from Lamont, Pa. to sleepy Bellefonte. The anxiousness was palpable as the main players were due to complete the less than 20-minute commute.
Armed to the teeth, the click-click-click of two-dozen or so cameras fired off as a black BMW SUV rolled slowly into the parking lot. No built up speed was able to guide the car into its spot. As if in neutral, the car slithered into the yard. Jerry Sandusky's emergence was night turning into day. His bright white hair illuminating the graying atmosphere, revealing the alleged monster.
A brief saunter into the building and the moment had come and gone. Reporters and photographers had gotten what they needed. Now all there was to do was sit around and wait for him to leave.
Appropriately, the faucet in the sky tightened up and the clouds regained their color. Most packed up and headed for home or more work. The town will return to normal within a week or so when the 220 possible jurors are whittled down to 12.
Amazing, the ripple effect. One man's alleged behaviors, actions, decisions, and thoughts. All of which causing this spectacle, along with countless victims of personal anguish and sadness for a myriad of reasons.
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