sagaciously is...

It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I woke up that morning, dress uber-professionally & hurriedly, knowing that I had to appear in court, sans lawyer, and plead my case to the judge. So, while I donned a suit, it wasn't my best one - just a skirt, dress shirt, and conservative heels. I rehearsed in my head (for the 30th time) how I'd ask the judge for a reduction in my fine, as I grabbed my suit jacket off the kitchen chair. The red dress pin you see, a thank you gift for a donation I'd made to the American Heart Association's Red Dress campaign, was still stuck through the lapel. I considered removing it, but was in a hurry, and forgot it swiftly in my haste as I dashed out the door. I didn't want to be late for court.

You see, I'd gotten cited for my little traffic faux-pas, the one I alluded to previously. And on advice of counsel, I'd planned on going to court by myself, take a guilty plea, and ask for a fine reduction. Then hope the party whose car my car struck, didn't decide to sue. I just wanted to get through court with minimal damage to my wallet, and minimal damage to another potential court date.

As I walked into court, asking for directions, the court clerk stopped me, and complimented me: "I like your pin". I thanked her, and she pleasantly not only sent me in the right direction, but instructed me to listen carefully to my judge, who "is real long-winded, but very fair". I thought her statement was kind of curious, but hoped that the fair part applied. When I got in the courtroom, another person asked if I was a lawyer. Had I not already glanced aroung the courtroom, I may have thought the question strange. However, most of those appearing in court, for either traffic or minor drug offenses, were very casually dressed - jeans, or khakis, etc. Even the court clerks had on gauchos and off the shoulder tops. The only people in suits were the lawyers, prosecutors, and me.

And yes, the judge was long-winded. 35 minutes of instruction long-winded. I'll spare you the details, but I will say his instructions were very useful. He told us about a Community Service Program being offered by this jurisdiction, where you can work off your fine and/or jail time, by volunteering for XX number of hours, at the non-profit of your choice. In this case, your court case is reset for another 60-90 days, to allow you time to complete your community service. Then all you have to do is present a note, on the non-profit's letterhead, stating the community service has been completed, the number of hours completed, signed by an officer at the non-profit. And they will dismiss your case. No jail time, no fine, no points on license, and no increased insurance rates. The only catch: your driving record has to be clear.

Um, yeah - y'all know about my lead-foot, right? I caught a lil ticket a while back, for following an emergency vehicle (within 200 ft). Yeah, that's an actual offense. Yeah, I pled No Contest. Yeah, my driving record wasn't clear.

So, I proceed to plead guilty, ask for a reduction of the fine. The gaucho wearing court clerk directs me to wait to talk to the judge. I wait, but the Prosecutor calls me first. Never glancing my way, he asks what I'm waiting for, and as I nervously explain that I want the fine reduced....he glances at the Red Dress.
And the Prosecutor goes: "ok, let me look....hm...yes, you only have the one citation, so that's fine...you want Time to Pay, or Community Service?"
me: "uh, Community Service if I'm eligible...."
Prosecutor: "No problem. I'll reduce the fine from $XXX to $XX...
me: "Ok, thanks...."
Prosecutor: "we'll reset your case, and give you XX days in jail in lieu of the fine...and then you can serve X hours of community service in lieu of the fine, or the jail time"
me, breathing again: "thanks...I really appreciate it"
Prosecutor, glancing at the Red Dress again: "no, thank you."

As I left the courtroom smiling a little, the cleark that complimented me on my pin said goodbye, and added "I knew you'd do well". I don't know if it was the suit, or the pin, or my non-negative attitude. Either way, I was just happy to get off with the fine reduction. I don't know why the Prosecutor was so enamored of my pin, but my guess would be that he's had a woman in his life who was affected by heart disease, a wife, mother, secretary, clerk, etc. So maybe my wearing that red dress, helps her wear her red dress.

Now, I've got friends who complain a lot about not getting a "hook-up" or a break. Hell, I've even complained about getting railroaded by the "system", or "the man", or some minor circumstance that didn't fall in my favor, causing me all kinds of drama. And we all know cases where someone commits some major crime, and gets a slap on the wrist. I guess what I've learned is, sometimes you've gotta make things happen...and sometimes you've gotta just let things fall into place, but enable things to happen. I didn't wear that Red Dress to get some sympathy from the judge. Did it make/break the situation? Well, would the prosecutor have said "you only have one citation" or "you've already got one citation"?

I happen to have on the suit again this morning. And yes, the dry cleaner handed me the Red Dress pin when I picked it back up, so I stuck it back through the lapel. I straightened it accordingly, and thought to myself that it's sorta my good luck charm, now. It gave me an opportunity, when I felt it was necessary. And that's all the hook-up I needed.