Yesterday I had to appear in municipal court for a traffic violation. I was photographed by some sort of robotic radar/camera van supposedly going 44 in a 30mph zone. As this is not my habit, and when I received the ticket in the mail two weeks after the robo-cop recorded me (unknown at the time) I had no memory of such wanton lawlessness, I decided to contest the no-point violation and $40 fine.

It was quite a production, with a prosecutor submitting various exhibits into evidence, and placing the radar-camera van attendant on the stand for direct testimony. I represented myself and was able to cross-examine the attendant guy. Most of what I had intended to offer in my own defense was related to my exemplary driving record, good attitude and impecable driving habits. All inadmissable, as it turns out. I was not surprised when the judge decided in favor of the city, stating that they had proved my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

I suppose they did. Hope it was worth $40 to them.



On the way home from that little adventure, I stopped to browse in a new-agey kind of shop where I saw some Buddhist prayer flags fluttering over the door. The books and various spiritual trappings were all pleasant to look at, but it was their bulletin board on their back wall that really catured my attention, and I stood there reading cards and flyers for about a half hour.

What is it about Fort Collins that makes it such a center for healing arts, holistic this and that (Holistic House Cleaning even), and all manner of psychic harmonic convergence and stuff like that? Shall I participate in the Sufi chanting ceremony on Sunday, or the Ipanishad study? Maybe tap into The Universal Mind of All That Is? Heruka Buddhist studies? Yoga? Massage therapy? Psychoanalysis? Financial Success or Life Path Counseling? It's amazing to see how many solo entrepreneurs offer services to the community here - I wonder how many earn a living in this way. Standing there smelling the incense, listening to the flute music and whale-calls it all seemed so inviting...

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