Hmmph!

So I went to court today to take care of my "Fix-It" and "No Proof of Insurance" tickets. I first went to get the fix-it disposed of and was told to go over to the court and take care of the other while they called the officer up. So I moved next door. I presented the ticket AND my insurance card to the court clerk and she quickly informed me that the card that my insurance agent gave me was not valid as proof of insurance. "Why not?" I inquired.

"Because this card just says it's valid until termination."
"Yes, it is." I respond obviously not seeing the problem.
"Your insurance company could have cancelled the policy the day before the ticket was written. You have to show a card that has an issue date and a termination date."
"If I showed one with a termination date, who's to say they didn't cancel my insurance, too? Which they haven't. I have insurance."
"If you showed this card to an officer, he'd write a ticket because it does not have a termination date on it."
I'm getting irritated now, "It's because it's not been terminated. I HAVE INSURANCE."

I fought the law and the law won. I lost. I have to get a card, with dates, to prove that I had insurance on April 6. I thought that's what I had done, but I guess I'm not as smart as our Municipal Court Clerks. Go figure. So I have to go back before May 10 or they'll issue a warrant for my arrest. Yeah, whatever.

So I go back to the police department to take care of the easy one. Headlight fixed, no problem. HA! I walked in to find a parent who obviously did not think things through thoroughly before she had kids with her ex-husband. She was filing a police report, trying to get her ex declared an unfit parent because he allegedly told their seven-year-old to take a multi-tool to school. He got caught with the "weapon" and was suspended. The mom wanted the police to do something, anything, to punish the man she had at one time thought was OK enough to sleep with, actually twice, if both kids were his -- looking at her, one could wonder... While she is giving her story to MY fix-it ticket officer, her ex walks in. I'm looking for a way out because to hear her tell it, he's a bad man -- I've got visions of him shooting the place up and the officer returning fire with me in between. (I have a vivid imagination, what can I say) He hugs the kid, gave him a kiss, and listened to his ex-wife rant about how evil he is. When she finished, he asked if he could give his side of the story. "NO. This is my Fix-It Ticket Officer, wait your turn." The officer didn't hear my inner voice, she let him give his side -- explaining it was put there after school and forgotten until the little boy pulled it out the next day. By now the kid is crying, mom is trying to pull him away from dad, the officer asks if he's OK, mom responds that he's upset. The officer replies: "Of course he is. He's watching his parents fight a custody battle in front of him, what do you think he's going to be?"

Twenty minutes later, finally, they left, or at least moved their verbal sparing to the parking lot, and let me have my officer back. As we walked out, dad is trying to apologize, mom is dragging the kids along screaming leave me alone, and the kids are caught in the middle. On the positive side, my headlight was correctly installed and I got one ticket voided in roughly 18 seconds.

One down, one to go!

D