Times and Seasons

The long anticipated court date was yesterday.  We went Wednesday afternoon to spend the night and do a "dry run" so we'd know where we had to go for court.  We ended up getting to the court house 45 minutes early and wouldn't you know they don't open their doors until 8:30am.  That's weird because our time for court was 8:30am.  We found a little doughnut shop nearby and sat and ate a Maple Bar and a drink to take up some of the time.  When the door was finally opened at 8:30 on the dot, there were about a hundred people waiting to get it so by the time everyone went through security screening, it was close to 8:45.  We went in the court room and were among about a hundred other people with cases before the court at that time.  It was interesting to watch the proceedings and see what really goes on in an actual courtroom.  We were sitting on a hard bench and I was sure Dad would be fidgeting and upset because he had to wait.  However, he enjoyed watching and thought it was all very interesting.  Turns out that all they do at an arraignment is hear the prosecutor's charges and you enter a plea and set another date for the "trial jury."  We were told if we pleaded "not guilty," Dad would not get his gun back and that was unacceptable to him even if he never has a permit again.  Because we live out-of-state, they did a continuance and set the court date further out so we would have to to get back up here before the date.  We would be back in Salt Lake for the family get  together at the time everyone else's dates were scheduled.  I had no idea what attorney to call.  We had double checked to see if we qualified for a public defender, which, of course, we did not qualify.  I called the state bar when we got home and they referred me to an attorney referral service.  For a $10 fee they give names who deal with the types of cases we needed.  I spoke with the attorney and we set a meeting for Monday at 1:00pm so we will be heading back towards Seattle again late Monday morning.

One of the things I do in the mornings, is work on a jig saw puzzle.  I love doing them and this morning I finished the one I've been working on the past week or so.  Here's a picture of the completed puzzle: