Not Happy Holidays

[billbenson]

Bad Thanksgiving. We never got to eat Thanksgiving dinner until Sunday night.

Christmas, a friend of my wife's got thrown in jail. Not a serious crime or DUI. So my wife was messing with that.

New Years Eve was fine other than I was sick. I was struggling to stay up until midnight. I had to because my wife has some very important rituals she does at midnight. She's Latina and its part of her culture.

January 2, my dog has a heart attack and dies. We don't have kids so our dogs fill that gap. He was a boxer. They are prone to heart conditions, but he was only 8 which is to young for that to happen. A great dog and my kid.

So I can look back on this years holidays and say they were the worst ever! Didn't even get some of the projects I wanted to get done started...

[nealrm]

Sounds like the post-holiday, winter dull-drums have set in. Cheer up, try to put a positive spin on events and get a sun lamp.

[Freelancier]

Sounds like time for a vacation to somewhere where the rum flows freely....

[David Hunter]

Yikes. Sorry to hear.

That's one reason why I try not to tell people Happy New Years. I usually say, "Best of Luck in the New Year."

Because... we never know what tomorrow will bring.

[Harold Mansfield]

Yeah, that was pretty sucky. Really sorry to hear about the dog.

[billbenson]

Thanks guys. My wife and I are taking it pretty hard.

[KristineS]

Sounds like you had a tough holiday season Bill. Hang in there and try to be as positive as you can.

[Patrysha]

Hugs...that sounds horrid. Hope the year progresses better than the shitty holiday season you had!

[billbenson]

This just keeps going on and on. A friend of my wifes husband was in an accident 1.5 hours from us and is unconcious in a hospital. His left side ribs are shattered and both collar bones broken. We don't know what happened. Then my wifes close cousin was killed in a motorcycle accident. I didn't know either of them, but this isn't stopping for my wife.

[Harold Mansfield]

Hang in there Bill. Just be there for each other, your friends and family, and be thankful that the two of you are OK.
I'll have my Mom mention you in her prayer circle. Old Ladies love praying for people like it's extra points in a video game :)

[billbenson]

Old Ladies love praying for people like it's extra points in a video game

Thanks Harold. That's funny. My wifes pretty religious. I'm not.

[billbenson]

Ok, I need a recommendation here. This morning my wife was driving her friend who's husband is in the hospital in bad shape to Lakeland FL. She's Latina as is her friend. Its an hour and a half away. If she speeds while driving it's 5 or 10 mph over. Nothing crazy. She was in a line of cars with another car in front of her. Cop pulls up behind her, detains her for half an hour, and gives her a ticket for 20 mph over the speed limit. I guess Latina's aren't allowed to drive $35k cars. They should have pulled over the row of cars or the car in front of her.

She had a row of getting pulled over several years ago when the police were looking for illegal aliens, but that ended. This is a clear case of profiling or discrimination. And not something she needed while going to visit her friends possibly terminal husband.

As I'm writing this I'm going pretty much nonlinear. Having said that, we'll just pay the ticket and move on. I do want to set her car up with cameras. A front and rear dash cam should work. Does anyone know of a device that can monitor speed though. It was impossible for her to be going faster than the car in front of her. I'd like evidence of that. You can't legally record audio.

Anybody have an idea for a car setup?

[Freelancier]

I think 20 over speed limit may also involve points, which then affects your crazy Florida insurance rates. I'd get an attorney to fight it if you felt you were right. Might cost more, but it might save your insurance from being cancelled.

[billbenson]

The more I look into it, I think my wife was at fault. It wasn't where I thought she was. It was on a section of interstate that is posted at 70 mph and traffic frequently moves at 80. She was ticketed for 88 mph. In a new car and being in a rush, I can see her thinking she was going slower.

So the thing that is pissing me off the most now that I have more info is the way the one cop acted. The woman who was in the passenger seat was the wife of the guy who was in the hospital from the bad accident. There were two cops there in two different police cars. Highway Patrol. This woman doesn't speak much English but is here legally. The officer that gave the ticket's last name was Flores (a Latin name) and he was Latino. My wifes friend asked him in Spanish how she could get a copy of the accident report in Spanish. He understood her but responded in English which she didn't understand.

With all the racial tensions and protests going around about the police right now, most of whom do a good job BTW, this cop could have had the courtesy to answer in Spanish. Isn't the motto to protect and serve? This woman had committed no crime. My wife is the one who was speeding. She just wanted to find out more information about the accident her husband was in.

Her husband went through surgery well BTW. He had ribs that punctured his lungs so right now pneumonia is the primary concern. He should be taken off of the breathing apparatus tomorrow. Funny, in the martial arts I study, we practice ways of puncturing lungs.. If he is stable for a few weeks he should be fine. It'll obviously take a while.

I want to write a polite letter to the superior of the officer who wouldn't respond in Spanish. He wasn't even the officer who pulled my wife over. Although, he may also have done my wife a favor by writing the ticket for 88 mph. Maybe she was going 90 and would have qualified for reckless driving. Like I said, its an area of road where people frequently go way over the speed limit. She may very well have been going at the speed of traffic, but if she was speeding, she was speeding.

[CCAdamson]

Sorry to here of your recent happenings. Try to think of the positive. You and the Wife have your health. Things can only go up right? Hang in there.