It pays to be a Georgia fan

Remember a few weeks ago when this had me shedding rare tears? Well, today I went to court over it. I've never been to court before, so for this rule-follower who almost never got in trouble as a child, going to court and publicly acknowledging my fault was about the worst thing I could be asked to do. I woke up an hour early this morning worrying about what I would say, what would happen if I showed up late or if the judge made a snide comment toward me and I had to bite my tongue and simply say, "Yes, your honor."

I hate not knowing what to expect.

A little backstory: I went to the Municipal Court last week to set my court date. While scheduling my date, I asked if I could be moved to the front of the docket since I was a teacher and only had limited time off during the day. To my surprise, the woman said that it'd be no problem.

Back to today. When I arrived, I was one of about 30 people who were all there for "lunch court." I had to go up to the clerk to sign a waiver and while I was there, I decided to check and make sure that I was at the front of the lineup for the day. I was not. So, I relayed how I'd been told I could be one of first, and the woman said, "Who told you that? We don't do that here." And to the lady next to her: "Did you hear what she just said?" To me: "Say it again." Me: "I was told that I could go toward the front of the line today since I'm a teacher and need to get back to my class." Mean clerk with eyes rolling: "I'll see what I can do, but we really don't do that." Me: "Okay, thank you."

Thankfully, they called me first. I walked up to a table in front of the judge's seat where a pleasant and knowledgeable prosecutor was sitting. After explaining my situation to the woman, she quickly agreed that driving school was a fine option and as we were walking up to the clerk's desk to get the paperwork processed, the prosecutor (or so we'll call her since I don't know her actual title) made an off-hand comment about the University of Georgia. I looked at her incredulously. "You're a Georgia fan, I take it? We're few and far between in this state." She returned my amazed look. "You go for Georgia too? (Short pause) Well, what can I do for you?" As I contemplated whether or not to say "Drop my charges" out loud, she beat me to the punch. "I tell you what. I'm going to dismiss this case."

I have never loved Georgia football as much as I did at that moment.

While she filled out new paperwork for the next minute or two, we cheerily talked Georgia football. It wasn't quite the courtroom experience I had imagined. Minutes later, after speaking with the judge and being officially aquitted, I had to approach the mean clerk one last time for my paperwork to be processed. "You're case is dismissed. Have a nice day," she said without looking up. "So, do you need any paperwork from me before I go?" Without looking up again, she repeated, "Have a nice day." With that, I turned around and walked out--hopefully for the last time.

I put two Georgia t-shirts on my Amazon Wish List today. I figured with the $180.00 that UGA saved me today, I owed them at least my t-shirt allegiance.