I am in the midst of a murder trial so I do not intend to comment on the trial itself until it is over. There will be stories to be told. Patience is a virtue. I do intend, however, to share with you two things that happened to me today, not for “evidentiary purposes” (classic police term) but for comedy sake. Yes, my life is a comedy at times.
So I am to be in court at 9:00. I am rarely late. I call ahead if I believe I am going to be 3 minutes late. And I still make it on time. I can think of no better way to anger a Judge then to show up after the clock strikes 12. You end up spending the rest of the day making up for your mistake. I try to limit my mistakes to zero. I am not perfect.
Today my daughter has track and field at 8 am sharp. So I barely have enough time to grab breakfast before we fly out the door. My other daughter is forced to walk the 15 minutes with their caregiver, so I have guilt as well. I make it on time to school and refuse to carry her rainboots to class while she waits at the front door with the rest of the students to run two laps around a field. Hey, its a start to her marathon career. Like mother, like daughter. You see, she has these nice hunter boots that are used for horseback riding. She has managed to keep them relatively clean and unscathed, but I know that once they are scratched, she will be asking for another pair, claiming they are too cold or some other excuse that she knows I know what she is really upset about. They are no longer a perfect specimen. I can live with this guilt.
Where was I…oh yeah: 9 am court: So im two blocks away and have 12 minutes to spare. I notice a cruiser in my rear view mirror. He begins to follow me. And then it happens, those dreaded sirens. I pull over. I jump out of the car and ask him what he is pulling me over for, considering I am to be before a Judge and a Jury in 15 minutes (I always leave 5 minutes of wiggle room to spare). The officer, straight faced and all, advises me that my validation sticker has expired. You’ve got to be kidding, im thinking to myself…ok…it’s out loud. Is there nothing better for him to be doing? Has crime dried up? Am I the only non law abiding citizen in Oshawa? I explain to him that I have to be before a jury and a judge on a murder trial: he responds in kind: ”registration, licence and ownership”. So I respond, so you don’t care if they are waiting? He then asks: What is your role? I knew, from there, I was screwed. Had I been anyone else beside a “defence counsel”, I suspect that he would have let me go.
I’m not excusing my bad highway traffic behaviour. I should be punished accordingly. But there is something called “DISCRETION”. Not for this girl. I couldnt find my registration either so. Now I am a very bad girl. After waiting several minutes, he tells me he is being nice by not giving me a ticket for not having my registration (okay, couldnt find my insurance either) and gives me a ticket only for not having a validation sticker.
So, that was the start of my day. I was not happy.
During lunch I checked my messages. I received a voicemail to call a detective in Toronto regarding something “minor…not to worry…something about getting gas this morning and leaving without paying.” I cannot believe my ears. I did fill up this morning and specifically recall using my credit card and preauthorizing $100 (what happened to the old days when you would put the card in and push the button). I called him back and said the only thing I could think of to bring humour to my otherwise stressful day: ”Why would I want to pay for gas?” He asked if it was me and we laughed together. I told him that I was sure that it went through and that I would rectify it as soon as possible. And you know what he said? I figured it was a mistake and just call me when you pay them.
What a day. And I havent even spoken of the trial, or the fact that my girls ate my dinner when I brought it home, or the fact that our dog, peppermint, who refuses to go outside in the rain, will be leaving us gifts all over the house upon our return from their art class this evening.
