Huge "Whew!!!"

Back in February I got a speeding ticket on my way back to Georgia for a cousin's funeral. He  (supposedly) clocked me doing 93 in a 70 zone. I'll admit at times I got up to ninety when passing someone but had been following a black Mazda for almost three hours. It was about a quarter mile ahead of me and certainly going faster than me. Sometimes I even lost sight of it.

The cop was nice enough but kinda strange. He asked me to step out of the vehicle and come to the rear of my car. Then he pointed to the car magnet my daughter had given me.

He asked where I got it? I told him. He wanted to know where she got it? I told him I didn't know. He said he liked it. Then he told me I could get back in my car and leave, after handing me a ticket.

When I got back to Orlando I looked up my ticket on line. It was going to cost me $422.00.

 I knew I should have taken that magnet off and offered it to him.

Instead I went on line, found the car magnet and ordered one.

 Then I got his name off my ticket and mailed the car magnet in a manila envelope to the sheriff's office writing  "To the attention of" and wrote his name. The only thing I included in the envelope with the magnet was a sticky note which read "My daughter found it on line."

Needless to say my husband was not very happy with me getting the ticket. In my defense was the first ticket I'd gotten in almost twenty five years.

One of my managers at work suggested for me to go to court instead of paying the ticket and if he didn't show up they would drop it.

I didn't buy the magnet to bribe him. If I had wanted to bribe him I would have offered him the magnet off my car that day. I just wanted to send a message that even after he gave me a $422 ticket when I was going home for an unexpected funeral and had a lot on my mind, I was a bigger person  and could be nice even if he hadn't been.

Tim thought I was crazy, and isn't far off the mark but after discussing it with my brother and sister decided it was worth a shot. I worked like crazy (see) and started a ticket fund in the sugar bowl above our stove. When I had finally saved up the $422 I wrote to the address on the back of the ticket, where it said to make a written request if wanting to plead not guilty and they would give me a court date. I only had forty five days to respond but saved the money in a month, then wrote requesting a court date. That way if I was found guilty I'd had the money saved up. If I was found not guilty, I'd have a nice nest egg to put into savings.

Well the forty five days came and went. I check the mail every day for a letter from them. Now it's been almost three months and I started to get nervous. Had they gotten my letter? Have my license been suspended for not paying within forty five day? It took me a week to work up the courage to call them.

I called them after Tim said the car insurance had gone up fifty bucks a month...and quickly blamed it on me, and my ticket. I drove everywhere like a granny (which I am)  after he told me that. I  was terrified of being pulled over and carted off to the poky for driving on a suspended license.

The first number I called from the back of the ticket said they only took payments of tickets. I asked how to find out if they had received my request for a court date? 

Of course I was given a number which remained busy for over three hours.

That made me even more nervous about the whole thing and came extremely close to just calling the court back and paying the ticket in case my license had been suspended.

Instead I finally googled the sheriff's office and called them.

A young girl answered and I asked if she could check the status of my ticket for me? 

Of course she said she couldn't.

She told me the sheriff was out for lunch but would give him my name and number.

I honestly thought he'd never call me back, but three hours later (musta been a large lunch) my cell phone rang and it was him.

He asked if I had tried to call the courthouse and recited the same number I had called for over three hours.

I told him I couldn't get through.

He said "Yeah they stay pretty busy over there; let me try and call someone else for you and I will call you back again."

Not five minutes later he called again to say they had indeed received my letter requesting a court date, it had arrived in plenty of time but the court calender was currently four months behind. He said they would most probably write to me in Orlando around June and the court date would most likely be in late July or August.

BINGO!!

I asked him if my license was still valid and he assured me it was, saying I hadn't been found guilty of anything yet and the forty five day window of time didn't matter because the back up was on their end. 

I thanked him for checking for me and (as long as I had him on the phone) briefly told him the whole thing included extenuating circumstances and would just like to plead my case, not having received a ticket in well over twenty years, was heading home for a funeral of a relative who had died unexpectedly and was late because of heavy traffic out of Florida.

The man was so nice to me and said he understood completely. He also gave me the name of the county solicitor and said to contact him after receiving my court date. He added that he was a great guy and hopefully could work something out for me.

I was floored to say the very least.

This certainly wasn't what I expected when I made that first initial call.

I felt like Karma was once again  on my side. 

I came this close to sending off my hard earned $422.00 just to be safe but after a little extra effort and determination, think I made the right decision.

As they say on TV cop shows "I may just beat this rap."

It's worth a shot anyway.

You never know what you can do until you try.

Yes I was speeding when the radar tagged me. I was also passing someone at that exact moment in time. There were also plenty of people driving much faster than me and pretty sure not all of them were on their way to bury a loved one who died sudden and unexpectedly.

I haven't gone more than five mph over the limit since that day and don't intend on doing it. I leave early for work and take my time getting back home after work.

Worse case scenario, I have the ticket money already saved. Best case scenario, I learned my lesson and will have a nice little pot to add to savings.

Since then, we've also had a scare with our oldest boxer who is over thirteen years old. One day he suddenly woke up, was lethargic and instead of a canine heart rate of sixty to one hundred sixty, was barely beating at fifty and often pausing for a second or two. He didn't eat for over two days and rarely moved. The third day, he woke up and actually ate a small bowl of food.

It wasn't like he was exuberant but being a boxer at the age of thirteen was highly unlikely anyway...even on a good day.

But at least we still had him around.

Massey is very close to this ole man and was terrified to think of losing him. Seems he only had some type of bug but more than that, think he was preparing Massey for the inevitable. It's going to happen and unfortunately sooner than later. 

He's not in pain, he doesn't seem to be in any distress other than he is simply a really old dude, for his given breed, totally blind and his ole ticker is slowing down, just like him.

So we have yet another pup as well. He's only approaching the six year mark. Still a kid in our minds' eye of dog hood.

Horrible dog for his first two years. Couldn't take a dump unless he was on the carpet in our house.

Chewed up so many things we lost count. The last thing I remember him chewing up was Zachary's razor. 

Really???

Couldn't keep him in the yard, even with a six foot fence.

We renamed him "Lil' Houdini."

He got out of the yard one morning, was gone for over three hours.  I searched and searched for him. Then Massey found this picture of him posted on Face book by some school nurses. They had him at the elementary school , in the office, half a mile up the road from the end of our subdivision.

We had him spayed the next week and changed everything.

Boxers are prone to fatty tumors, our first one had more than a couple of little ones. Ziggy has grown a few, maybe three small ones but one huge honker on his hip. It got so big my nephew renamed him "Two Tails."

Relocating to Orlando, starting all over again, my job falling through and other things simply got in the way. We're not "Charge it" people. We pay for things when we can pay for them.'

We decided, after ole Charlie passed that we had to get Ziggy's shots up to date and have those fatty tumors removed.

Last week we had his shots updated and scheduled tumor removal surgery for this week.

Tim took him in at seven thirty in the morning. He picked him up around five o'clock. I was already at work by then. I was just thrilled he had survived the surgery. I was worried we had waited too long.

Time sent me this picture at work, where the tennis ball sized tumor had been removed.

The vet was able to remove them all completely. The tumor on his hip was now just a knot the size of a Hersey Kiss. The vet had warned us the largest one may not be completely removed but we were pleased with his work.

He had a rough night. So did I.  I got home after work around ten at night. He paced the floor until almost three in the morning. I pulled the dog bed in front of the couch and fell asleep on the couch around three thirty. I woke up and Ziggy was curled up on the dog bed fast asleep.

Baby steps!

The next morning he was better and actually wagged his tail when we talked to him.

We're now on day four since surgery and I let him walk around the back yard on his own for a few minutes this afternoon. We've been walking him on a leash three times a day around the front yard just to pee and poop.

He's got two other sets of stitches on his other side as well. Poor dude, no wonder he had a hard time sitting down with all those sutures on his hind quarters.

I don't know what it is about being one of our dogs, but they sure know how to take a licking and keep on kicking.

For an English Bulldog to live to be fourteen is a feat in itself. We still miss the ole grump with his  gorgeous white eye lashes and black eye liner.

Moving to Orlando happened and transpired with many different emotions, circumstances, situations and has been quite a learning experience for me in this game of "Later In" life. 

I've learned a lot about myself and have learned a lot about others.

I've learned that it's okay to be sad, as long as you don't let it consume you.

I've learned to have more faith in my self.

I've learned to bloom where I happen to be planted.

I've learned to cherish old friends and enjoy making new ones.

More than anything else I have learned that whenever you think you have a lot of problems, you don't. There are always millions and millions and millions of other people who would give anything to only, (or just) have the problems you are dealing with at any given time in any given situation on any given day...and to help those people if and when that opportunity ever may present itself to you.  And the greatest thing I've discovered to be a stone cold fact, is the more you do for others, the more good things will happen for (and to) you. This also includes feelings, animals, situations, environments and surroundings, near and far. If you care about others, your own self will be taken of even more.

I know I'm borderline Crazy as a Loon but sure makes life more interesting. If I had a dollar for every time my husband or kids rolled their eyes at me or shook their heads about something I've said or done, I would have been a millionaire way before I had all these wrinkles and lines.

I enjoy what I do for a living, which is basically to try and let others experience joy.

What a great job to have!

Last night at work, my last table, at the end of a long closing shift was a table of four older people from Oklahoma, visiting here in Orlando. We were almost closed so I had plenty of time to stand and chat with them. A lot of people, especially older ones, don't really get the concept of our restaurant. It's designed to be small sharable plates. All food is delivered to the table as soon as it's ready and comes out in random order, encouraging guests to order a couple of items each and try a little bit of everything that hits the table. It's a unique way to be able and try anywhere from six to eight to twenty or thirty different things off the menu, depending on the size of your party.

They weren't all that hungry, old peeps rarely are... for some unknown reason I will find out much sooner than later.

I told them to just order one thing each and maybe split a salad, adding I would leave a menu on the table in case they wanted to order something else.

You know crazy me.

By the end of dinner (which they enjoyed a lot) I knew all about them and they knew all about me and my move to the Sunshine State after well over half a century in the Peach State. They said that they would definitely come back again while staying next door at the Marriott and asked if I worked the next day? I told them I was off on Thursday but would be there on Friday. One of the women asked my name again so they could request for me to be their server. I told her "Just ask for the old one and you'll get me."

After they left I went out to the patio where they had eaten and picked up the check presenter book. They had left me a great tip and had written on the receipt "Great service. We enjoyed you waiting on us very much".

By this point the only ones left in the restaurant were me , the closing bartender, busser and manager. 

I was finalizing the  ticket on the computer when I saw the note. My manager was standing next to me when I said "Awe, the old peeps left me a little note!" and she leaned over to read what they had written. She then said "See Kelly, you made a difference."

I said (kinda kidding) "I try."

She said "You most certainly do."

I think that's one of the nicest compliments I've ever received; actually it means the world to me and encourages me that I am on the right path of this thing called life.

It's one thing to try and be a good person. It's an awesome thing to know other people realize that you are trying.

"Trying"

(Yes I used Siri, but I also said please)

"Make an attempt or effort to do something."

It's a simple concept which could and can be interpreted in so many different ways but also make so many more differences, with just one small gesture.

Hence my note writing frenzy.

 The response has been incredible. Out of all the people I have written, pen in hand and sent simply snail mailed, have heard back from almost every single one.

I feel Karma is what has allowed me to have pups who lived way beyond their expected years. It is what has allowed me to have three children who have grown into their own, in different ways and  different time lines but all ultimately successfully so.

Yeah I married a man with a mullet who wore a Casio watch on his wrist to our wedding.

But I  stuck with the one who brung me to the dance. I accepted when he asked me to begin the dance, not even knowing if he was a good dancer and while we have do-si-doed a bit here and there over almost thirty years, it feels incredible to have the same partner... and for him to end our phone calls (rare and far between) always saying "I love you'" is a pretty big bonus.

Life is what you make it.

I so hope we end up being the couple behind me.

Live. Love. Learn.

Till next time, COTTON