Wednesday, June 06, 2012

my blog bit me in the butt


6/6/12 Wednesday
          There is always so much to do and it is always more than I can do alone. We have another swarm of bees under the house so I put a fogger in the crawls space to get rid of them. Got bit by one yesterday as I worked to repair the drain on our bathroom sink. I spent hours with a hoe attacking weeds yesterday, and the day before, but you can barely tell I did much. The rabbits continue to attack our cantaloupe and the snares I put out haven’t caught a thing. I have a business plan to amend for Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitation that has been sitting untouched for weeks now. As with most things in my life I simply don’t remember to do it or when I remember there is something pressing that needs to be done. There is a long list of projects laying dormant around here, all victims of that inability I seem to have to follow through on things. It is frustrating to be sure.

          This blog bit me in the butt Monday. After three years I finally got notification from the court that my trial for the traffic ticket was scheduled. Three years!!! Geese, I had forgotten it existed. Finally I would have by day in court to fight this ticket that was clearly a misreading of the radar on the part of the trooper that issued it. I had requested what they call “discovery” for this ticket when I went to court and asked for a jury trial, but had received nothing from the state. It was supposed to be mailed directly to me but having not seen anything I presumed it got lost in the shuffle. That was good, as I planned on asking the ticket be dismissed based on not having any of this evidence I needed for my defense. It did not work out that way.

          When I arrived at the court the prosecutor asked to talk with me privately. She was nice about things, not antagonistic at all as I had expected. Come to find out the state had generally denied all my requests for discovery, calling them “overbroad”. I asked specifically for the make and model of the radar unit in the officer’s car, nothing general or overbroad about that, but it really wasn’t going to matter.

          Come to find out the prosecutor had looked up my blog and read my account of getting the ticket. In that account I admitted going 60 miles an hour, nothing close to the 71 MPH the officer said her radar read, but still over the 55 MPH speed limit. I don’t regret being honest but honesty comes with a price. The prosecutor said that she wished to avoid embarrassing me in court and offered to cut the fine down or let me take a defensive driving course and pay a fine. It really didn’t make a difference that I was not going as fast as the ticket said because I had admitted going over the speed limit so I was stuck. Now we have to come up with $123.00 dollars plus whatever the defensive driving course will cost. As always this makes things tough. We barely make enough to pay our bills and eat and that dumb job I took securing houses for banks owes me ten checks that are being held for every stupid reason they can find and if I don’t run out and mow a lawn as quick as they want the refuse to pay on other jobs already done.

          Working on the 1929 model AA Ford is a constant series of headaches as I struggle to figure things out. The electronic ignition is the latest contest. I called the manufacturer and he gave me some good pointers I will try today. Have to get going to work on it now so bye till later.

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