Yesterday was my last day of exams at National and I was looking forward to being off early and running some long neglected errands before I had to go to Sam's for the evening. Well you know what they say about plans. I was on my way to school when I got a call from My son's friend Chris' roommate (see the May 15 blog) that Chris had been arrested again the night before. Apparently they had a bench warrant out for him for failure to appear since he had missed his followup court date from when his ^&(*&%^ mother had him arrested back in early April. He had been out riding around with the aforementioned roommate in the idiot roommate's unregistered, uninsured car. Not for nothing but I had seen them out around 9:30 and warned them to get back and get the car off the road. They however don't need a "mother" since they are grown men and therefore it was totally unexpected that they were stopped at 2 AM, James ticketed, the car impounded and Chris sent to jail.

SO, I set off on what I am now calling Chris and Maria's Great Adventure. Somehow, in spite of having 2 younger brothers, numerous friends (several who are or aspire to race car drivers and tons who are musicians), and having obtained my college degree ending with considerably less naivete' than I started with; I never have been in jail nor have I had to bail anyone OUT of jail. Heck, I have never even had a parking ticket! (Although I have "talked" my way out of a couple of speeding tickets, those racers are a bad influence LOL) In any case, my adventure through the legal system yesterday left me with a lot of doubt about the effectiveness of the system, not to mention where the HECK do they find these people who are supposed to be doing this work... and notice I said supposed to be doing the work.

First, as any good law abiding citizen would do, I hit the Internet as soon as my class was over to find out what I needed to do and where I needed to go. Then I called my friend Becky who has 2 of the dumbest daughters I have ever met and have repeatedly been through the system. After that, I called to find out that he either had to pay a fine, not bail! ($126.50) or spend 5 days in jail. OK, I thought, not bad, I had $145.00 in cash on me (unusual but I did have errands to run...)so off I went. First I had to find the circuit court clerks office...oops, after I get there they told me I was in the wrong place, I needed pretrial services. OK, back down a floor to pretrial...surprise, they have no record of him or his arrest. *sigh* supervisor please! Amazingly enough the supervisor found the paperwork (on the desk of the man who couldn't find it even though he was the one I had talked to 30 minutes earlier. But...The fine isn't $126.50 it is $156.50 because when they arrested him, they served the warrant. *sigh* $145.00 and change in the wallet, sorry no credit/debit cards or checks. *sigh again* back downstairs, without the paperwork, to find a bank to cash a check. Cash in hand, I go back to pretrial and get the paperwork and discover that I can't pay there I have to go back to the Circuit Court Clerks office. (they couldn't have told me that?) Up another floor to the C3's office and surprise, they take ATM cards, credit cards AND checks! Clerk treats me like I am an idiot and like I am scum of the earth in spite of the fact that I am well dressed, articulate and polite to the nth degree because I just want this over and don't want to piss anyone off. OK, Pay the fine, get the release form and receipt. Jail is 2 blocks over, go to the 8th floor.

Now is when the real fun starts, First I have to find an open parking meter and now it is lunch time in beautiful downtown Covington. Couple of times around the block and I finally find one that my car will fit into. I don't have a large car but people feel they can take up their space and maybe part of another one since they are paying for it...*sigh* I get out, walk the block and go to the 8th floor. Lucky, lucky me it is visiting day at the zoo and the doors just opened. I rode up in a tightly packed elevator...tightly packed with people who on a normal day I would cross the street to avoid. I stand in line for a while before I realize that this is NOT where I need to be so I leave the line and go to the window where you can leave money for your incarcerated loved one and she laughs at me and tells me I am in the wrong spot. Imagine that! So I am now going back down to the ground floor, (thankfully in an empty elevator since no one was leaving yet) back outside, around the building and down another block to ring the bell on the door to what passes for the "reception" area. I am surprised yet again when I am told that I am in the wrong place, I am to take 4 steps to my right and ring the other buzzer. While I am taking the 4 steps to my right, the lady who wouldn't talk to me at the door was taking 4 steps to her left. Amazingly enough, there she was at the window (after I had followed the proper buzzing procedure). I passed her the release form and now she wants the receipt that I actually paid cash for the fine (how did she think I got the release form, mug the circuit court clerk??????????) and another $5 for the jail fee. LONG *sigh* Back to my car a block over, get the receipt and the $5 and BACK to the window directly this time (see, I can learn!) She takes everything, passes back my receipt and informs me it will take 1- 1 1/2 hours to get him released! What the heck, where are they holding him?? SO, in my innocence, I ask her where I should wait, is there a waiting room where when he comes out he will see me and I can find him? (oh man, the visions I had of that place) No, I am to wait either at the top of the driveway or I can wait in my car. Hey! Somewhere along the line I have failed to mention that it is 90+ degrees and we are under a smog alert... by now, with all my back and forth running, I am totally soaked in my good "school clothes", thirsty and yes, I know it is hard to imagine but I am pissed. Just to add to the mix, the jailhouse dumpsters are there at the bottom of the driveway and they were shall we say "ripe"? My car is a block away so if I am there, I know he will never find me. I can go back up to the jail, try to get a visitor pass and see him and tell him where I am (oh please not a chance of me going back there!) or I can wait. So, I head down the block to have lunch (excellent homemade Mexican food at Fontova), drink one bottle of water while I am there and grab another to go and back I go to wait Chris. It's another 1/2 hour before he appears. When he comes out he informs me that they took his class ring and dog tags and he has to go get them...on the 8th floor with the dregs of society. *sigh again* Back I go. Fortunately by now, visiting hours are about over so the waiting room is empty but it still takes them, even with no one else there nearly half an hour to return his possessions. Free at last!!

Now I had already called Chris in to work at 8:30 and told our manager what was going on. Once I picked Chris up, after the obilgatory "mothering" (and don't mistake that with comforting right away), I made him call work and talk to our manager and then I made him go to work for the rest of the night with me. After our Great Adventure. the rest of the day was pretty mundane. Jake brought Chris and I home after a pit stop at Wendy's so they could refuel and I could have a rootbeer float. By the time I got home, it was nearly 11 and I was so keyed up I couldn't get to sleep. Then I was up at 4, because I drank a rootbeer float at 10 at night! Geez, when did I get this old? I finally get back to sleep at 5 and at 6 I wake up with a huge charley horse in my right leg. Needless to say, this is going to be a long day.

I think I am taking my sewing out to the patio for a while this morning before it gets too hot. I may however just find a pillow for the lounge chair and see how quiet I can be! :-) zzzzzzzzzzzz I just may be too old for all this fun!