Municipal Judge Deborah Mitchell returns from Afghanistan with new appreciation for law

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SYDNEY BRNK/DEMOCRAT Sedalia Municipal Court Judge Deborah Mitchell conducts a court day Wednesday at the Municipal Building. Mitchell is back in Sedalia after spending about 6 months in Afghanistan working as a mentor and advisor in the Afghan justice system. pic slug: 3-16-13 deborah mitchell

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Mitchell commented: “This is a typical ‘street’ in Kabul. A good French restaurant is a couple of blocks away from here. Our driver didn’t know where he was going. I was pretty nervous about the fact that we were lost.”

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Mitchell wrote:  “This is one example of a building that never seemed to move along as far as being constructed or torn down. Buildings such as this dot the city.”

Photo courtesy of Deborah Mitchell

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Mitchell wrote: “I titled this one “And They’re All Made of Ticky-Tacky,” which is a line in a poem about the sameness of post-World War II housing. These are shipping containers, modified to be personal quarters and offices.

Photo courtesy of Deborah Mitchell

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Mitchell commented: “Camp guard. We called them Gurkas, as some were Nepalese and that’s what the Himalayan guides are called.”

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Mitchell wrote: “In the middle of the desert, roses bloom consistently. Even into December, we had gorgeous roses in Kabul. This pink one is in Herat, and I looked at it when I was feeling low. It was so pretty, I immediately felt better!”