Monday morning I awoke at 6:15 am. sharp and got dressed like a real lawyer and ready to head downtown to Court to defend myself with respect to my speeding ticket. Court was at 9:00 but with Toronto traffic you can never leave too early -- so I left the house at 7:00. Two hours early and no one to bill the time to.

I got downtown with about an hour and half to spare. I read the Globe and walked the PATH. Of course the weather was sprinkly and humid. Great for wearing a suit.

I spent most of the time working on my defence and final closing. Since I have spent almost no time in traffic court I was expecting the worst -- a long line of accussed individuals with my case being at the bottom of the list.

Now I know enough about traffic court to know that a jury trial was out of the question. Since this was my first time up on the charge I did not know if bail was going to be granted -- but then I recall that you don't have to worry about bail in traffic court.

So then I focused on my defence or lack thereof. I could plead not guilty by reason of insanity -- but I have used that one way too many times. I could plead necessity but all my speeding is a necessity. I then decided that maybe I could "name drop". If I mentioned who I was married to; or acted for; or was related to; or who my friends were -- maybe I get get some sympathy. If all else failed, I could throw out some latin phrases like Res Judicata; or Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio; or Mens Rea. They all sound good and have nothing to do with anything.

Finally I met the crown counsel at 8:50 told him what I was going to do. Court started at 9:01. My case was called. The crown counsel pointed out that the ticket was defective and at 9:01:30 I left the court a free man. Wiser for the experience and sure to be a better driver.

justice was done.

ps. by the way -- the notice of trial set out the fine that was payable in the event of a conviction including victim surcharge as $5.01. But it was the principal (or principle) of the matter. So -- about $4.00 of gas; $6.75 for parking; cleaning my dress shirt $2.50; about three hours of going to the court and then the office - mega dollars; preparation time -- minimal.

but the experience -- priceless. if anyone can get a speeding ticket for $5.01 let me know.

Another wonderful weather weekend. I had decided a while ago to start forgoing food after 7 pm. As a result, with an hour to spare, I have just returned from having a banquet burger, fries and a large coke. What a diet. But, while stuffing my face and having ADDDDDD I was also reading an old motorcycle magazine.

The end result was that I recalled on Friday having compared with my friend Vince war stories about various bodily injuries. While he is much younger than I am, he kept up to my littany of injuries, ie. broken bones, motorcycle accidents, lost teeth etc, ad nauseum. The description of injuries involves some very lurid details of how the injuries occured -- made all the better with a puff on a cigar.

The reason for the recollection was that in the motorcycle magazine there was mention by Gwen Roberts of a comment made by her sister Gayle which was:

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

so, time to add some more adventures to my bucket list.

now I have to prepare for my own HTA trial taking place tomorrow. back to the books.

allan

July 5th

I spent the long weekend catching up on some serious motorcycle riding including a short ride Thursday night, a full day on Friday and Saturday and then a couple of hours on Sunday. It is a great sport and a great hobby.

I just checked out who has been checking out my blog. I don't have the slightest idea why they do but there are visitors from the US, United Kingdom, Ireland, Korea, Australia, Israel, Germany, Russia, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, a number of other countries that I can't instantly remember and Canada. I would say that each person really should spend less time on the internet -- but hopefully they gathered some enjoyment from the pictures, the jokes, the bucket lists or, heaven forbid, the information related to the realty of professional practices.

Anyway, whatever turns you on, I hope that I could add to your knowledge base or provide an instant of enjoyment.

be well
allan