Today was a first for me. I went to court.

On July 4th I got pulled over for violation of the Tennessee Move Over Law. Let me state for the blog record, that I was unaware there was such a law. I did indeed move over, out of courtesy and concern for the officer. However, according to the State Trooper, I did not move over far enough.

I've gotten tickets in the past for speeding. I've never been pulled over and wrongly charged. I always paid my ticket like a good citizen and went on my way. This time I chose to exercise my right and go to court. Did I mention the ticket was almost $200?

This morning I showed up at 9 am for General Sessions court. After almost an hour of names being called out and whispers at the judges bench, my name was called. (They went down the list alphabetically, of course.) The exchange went something like this:

"Mrs. Ward, do you have any outstanding tickets?"

"No, sir."

"You're going to traffic school, Mrs. Ward. Does that suit you?"

"Actually, Your Honor..."

"Mrs. Ward, pay the clerk the $50. Show up for 2 hours on Saturday and clear your record and don't do it again, please."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

Not exactly the epic courtroom declaration I had rehearsed in the car on the way over, but $50 is doable and I didn't have plans for Saturday anyway.

I should also mention that Big Tom Buchanan of Survivor:Africa was in the courtroom as well. Apparently, he had appeared at Elizabethton's Independence Day Parade and was ticketed as he left town. Big Tom didn't have to go to traffic school. His ticket was dismissed.

Maybe I should have worn my overalls.