Never Let Your Tickets Go Unresolved

Well, what a wonderful couple of days I have had!!!


Tuesday

Barry went to Yuma, Arizona (4 hours away in the farthest Southwest corner of the state) to do an appraisal. He took Emily with him so that they could make a day of it. And they did. They went to the Arizona Territorial Prison museum and had grand fun. Little did they know that this trip would foreshadow what was to come.

I talked to Barry at 5pm and he was on his way home. At 5:30pm, I got a call from a DPS officer telling me that, "my husband had been arrested. And would I be willing to come to Yuma and pick up my daughter?"

Once the initial shock wore off, and I was certain that my heart was once again beating I called for a rental car, and headed out. I didn't even take time to pack, other than a few toys for the kids to keep them content in the car. After a very, very long drive with 2 fighting children, I got to Yuma. I found my dh handcuffed to a chair, and my daughter having a wonderful time and seeing it all as a great adventure (Thank Goodness for the resiliency of children!!) My dh knew I was going to be ANGRY. He was right. As a matter of fact, even though I didn't scream or rant, my quiet rage was apparently more than obvious. My dh has mentioned that the police said, after I had left..."Man, your wife is MAD!" In order to hopefully diffuse my anger, he had already arranged a hotel room for me at one of the nicer hotels in town rather than the Motel 6 I was planning on staying in. Good thing for him.

Wednesday

I woke up at 8am to call the jail, and was told that I could do nothing until 1pm when dh went before the judge, I suppose I should mention the reason for the arrest. DH got a ticket for doing 37mph in a 25mph zone in 2003. And forgot all about the ticket. Well, Mesa didn't appreciate his neglect, and issued a warrant for my dh's arrest. They tend to do that when you don't take them seriously. So, Yuma was holding him, and they were planning to hold him for a week until he could be extradited to Mesa!!!! I got on the phone to Mesa and called the judge. He set bond. I then had to convince Yuma to call Mesa to confirm bond. They did! Wonderful. I could get dh home!!

I show up in court to pay the bail and get the hell out of Dodge! Well, they bring the prisoners in. I see my dh go by in LEG SHACKLES!!!! I burst into tears. All I could think was....it was a SPEEDING TICKET he didn't take care of!! It's not as if he KILLED someone!!! I see on the wall that checks are no longer accepted, but cash, cert funds and Visa/MC are accepted. Excellent. I can use my debit card. As soon as the judge confirmed the bond, I hopped up, asked the bailiff to take the papers over to the clerk, so I can pay it immediately. He was very kind and did just so. I hand over my card, only to be told "cash or cert funds only" So the sign that said Visa/MC ok means cash or cert funds only apparently,

Off I go to get a cashiers check. I drive almost to Mexico (seriously, this is on the border) and can't find a Bank of America. I finally give up and go into Bank One. No problem, they can take care of it. Oh but wait, there is a problem. They are out of cashiers check blanks! AARRRGGGG. So I wait for the refill, and drive back to court. Passing along the way, yes..a BofA. I get to the window to pay. And the clerk asks for my drivers license...no prob it's in.....the car! Parked a mile away BTW because they county is doing construction and there is no parking. So back to the car I run, kids in tow - 116 degree heat. And back to the window and YAYYYY It's paid. But I missed the 3pm release and can't come back until 6 to get him. So at 6, I get him. And back to the hotel, which I renewed for another night in anticipation of this sort of problem.

Barry gives me his tale of jail life. No talking, no phone calls, no tv, no books until you see the judge. And in Yuma, they arrest everyone! Seriously. There are more people in jail there than in Maricopa County (Phoenix). No one gets fined or released till they see a judge and everyone goes to jail while they wait.

Thursday

Well, we are home now. A little bit poorer, a lot tired and much the wiser. NEVER!!!!let those speeding tickets go!

And needless to say...my vacation has been cancelled! But on the plus side, Em had my camera because of the appraisals, and she had the presence of mind to photograph her daddy's arrest. I am going to make such a page out of this!!!