MY DAY IN COURT

Way back in February, I returned to my car after having had lunch in town, to discover a parking ticket on my window.  I was not happy.  I had put money in the meter but it wasn't working properly so I couldn't tell exactly how much time I had on it.  The ticket fee? $5.00    I know it's not much but in principle I felt it was unfair to be ticketed when the meter clearly was not working.  I took a picture of the meter with my phone because I knew right then and there I was going to fight it.

Last week I finally got my day in court and so, it seemed, did a hundred other people. I was not thrilled to see that my name was last on the docket.  I sat through over an hour  of various traffic violation pleas and sentences.  It was kind of like watching Court TV, interesting for the first two minutes but then you just want to change the channel.  At a recess, the crown attorney asked if there were any in the courtroom that she had not spoken to yet in regards to parking infractions.  To make a long story short, I was directed to another room where I met with a by-law officer to show my picture as evidence.  I was surprised when he asked me to provide the date stamp on the photo.... did he think I took the time to wander all over town searching for a faulty meter just so I could beat a five dollar ticket?   Fortunately, I knew exactly how to do find the date stamp on the photo (I had my computer with me) and I really wished Ian was there to see me do it.  He would have been suitably impressed, the guy I showed wasn't.  I think he was a bit put out that I could prove I was wrongly accused.  I was directed to return to the courtroom and a short while later  was informed that the charges were withdrawn and I was free to leave.  I was a little disappointed.  Why?  Well there was an older lady sitting in front of me waiting for her turn and it wasn't until the recess that I realized that she was blind, like white cane kind of blind.  I was intrigued.  What kind of driving/parking violation was she guilty of? During the recess she used her cane to walk to the crown attorney and hand her a large envelope.  While she was away, a man came and sat in the seat she had occupied.  When she returned to her seat she almost sat on him, she was that blind.  I certainly couldn't even imagine her driving, okay maybe I could because my imagination is a bit over the top, but still...a blind lady driving?