Got back late last night from the hopefully not to be annual Rally at the Judicial Center in Winchester, Va. No Porsches showed up (there were a couple of Tundras though) but we did get to tour a couple of fantastic garages owned by participants.
For the benefit of those who live in urban (or even suburban) areas many rednecks do not feel 'complete' without taking a deer outside of season. One or two of these cases went first yesterday. Then came the fun part.
First traffic case stands up; young guy in a suit with slick black hair in a pony tail. It was clear the guy was not used to wearing a suit and had made a good effort to look spiffy for the judge. 'Reckless driving' was the charge (in Va. this can be anything over 80mph or 20 over the limit). $750 fine. 30 days w/ 26 suspended; beginning 12/21!. I presume it was weekends and not through Christmas. But wow!!!!
One of the two participants was facing a 106/65 and the other was facing 86/65. I'll let board members who know us take a wild ass guess at who had the 106. Both are 'reckless' per Va. law. Chuck was not in the room when this poor bastard got slapped with 4 days and $750 in fines and this was probably a good thing. So, Chuck gets called up and the judge (we'll call him Mr. Grinch) asks all witnesses to raise their hands to be sworn. Chuck raises his hand as well but Grinch does not see him and starts into him about being in a court of law!!!
Not good.
So Grinch swears in Chuck (again....which maybe cancels out the original swearing?) and asks all witnesses to leave the courtroom and not discuss their testimony. This, in itself, is a comical point in the story but I will leave that part for September. Key phrase here for those that attend the next Rally is 'middle lane'. Anywho, I'm peering through the glass and I see the atty motion to Chuck to 'hush' and I think 'not going well'. A few minutes later atty comes out with a smiling Chuck and says the commonwealth had conflicting dates on the evidence and Chuck is OFF THE HOOK! The party commences but quiets to a hush momentarily when the atty explains that MY evidence does not contain such a date and is not subject to the same argument. Details aside i think he felt it wouldn't be wise to push the issue if a plea could be reached.
So I walk back into the courtroom with the atty and stand at 'the table' (it's never good to be at the table on the left btw) while my atty confers with the prosecuter. Atty comes to me and says 'I think I can manage 80/65'. This is good news as this is no longer 'reckless driving' and no longer a misdemeanor. 'Fine' I say. Atty goes to prosecuter and there is much waving of hands and gesturing. They do the 'let me refer to my files' thing and then the pros. points my atty to the cop. This would be the same cop who just watched his prize ticket walk out of the courtroom free as a bird. He was not smiling. In fact he looked like he had just caught his wife with the postman. So, atty talks to cop and cop makes an angry gesture back to the pros. mouthing something along the lines of 'it's his decision'.. Atty goes back to pros. and as he is about to talk with pros. the cop inexplicably walks over and says 'okay' to the atty!
$250 fine but no misdemeanor and no 'reckless driving' on my record. Merry Christmas to everybody!!!!!!
The Rally continued on to Balt. (some had to leave early) with a stop at a garge that contained the most amazingly clean '77 930 and some other beautiful machinery. I HOPE to see either that 930 or the stunning 356 that was behind it at the next Rally. The day ended with a visit to see a green GT3 RS and a very pleasant lunch nearby. All were in good spirits and additional stories were told (turns out i'm not the only person who finds following Chuck to be a challenge) then we went our separate ways.
In reflecting on my day the following points stick out:
-Do not speed in Va. unless you are willing to pay the price.
-Green GT3 RS's are absolutely bad-ass and i want one very badly.
-Chuck is one lucky motherf***er (and a nice guy to boot).
-Being around people that love cars is always a fun time; even in a courtroom.
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Great Story!
