Squashed Like a Bug

Yeah, squashed like a bug over at Redmond District Court. 

You see, when I went in to file my protest I asked – specifically -  asked the clerk, “…hey, this is after the 10 day filing deadline.  Will I be ok with this?” 

“Sure, the judge is pretty understanding.”

And by golly the judge was pretty understanding.  He explained to me that he understood he had no say in the city 10-day rule or waiver of such.  The city legal counsel got up and summarily dismissed me like I was an insignificant piece of pet waste that had somehow tracked into the courtroom on someone’s shoe.  I asked for some understanding but, (and I’m sure I’m right) they really had no case so the counsel dismissed me with smug aplomb and great personal satisfaction using the 10-day rule.

I asked the judge if I could at least have a public say.  He said, “No, you may not.”  And that was that.  So I left the courtroom feeling a little like a US citizen in the 21^st century. 

I went over to City Hall.  Went up to Traffic engineering to at least tell them their sign was misleading (we’ve been through that).  They were all out.  I was invited to “wait around”, but the steam was beginning to emit from my ears again and I just left.  So I went home and sent the engineer an email with the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one stating what the crime was and how I was so sorry for following the sign.

So, lesson learned.  I made two fatal mistakes.  One was obeying a sign.  The other was believing a law clerk.  Let this be a lesson.  And, if you believe a politician, well, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.

It’s always something