Author, Abigail L. Johnson lives and works in Sheridan, Wyoming USA. For paid employment, she presently works as an activities assistant in a nursing home. On a volunteer basis, she is involved at other facilities in the community that serve senior citizens. She has also facilitated a support group for the visually impaired and has served on the advisory board to a state trust fund which allows visually impaired people in Wyoming to purchase adaptive equipment and services.
It was a hot summer afternoon but the police and courts building in Buffalo, Wyoming was cool. But the fact that the building offered shelter from the heat was of little comfort to Lisa. After checking in, she and her father found seats near the outer door in the crowded waiting area. Lisa was twenty-three years old and she would soon be entering her senior year in college. But her father still thought of her as a little girl, despite the fact that she had been helping with the family business during her summer at home.
Lisa's father owned a coin-operated machine business in her home town of Sheridan, about thirty miles north of Buffalo. He leased jukeboxes, video games, and cigarette and candy machines to restaurants, bars, and other establishments. His business not only included Sheridan but also other towns, like Buffalo, in the surrounding area.
About every two weeks throughout the summer,Lisa had been traveling with her father to different locations where he serviced the machines. While her father checked to make sure everything was working and stocked the jukebox and vending machines, Lisa counted the money. Because she was visually impaired, she did this mostly by feel, separating the quarters and dimes, sorting them into piles, and wrapping the piles in money rolls, which were then deposited into the business's bank account at the end of the day. Lisa also worked in her father's shop, removing title strips from old jukebox records and doing other tasks which did not require much vision. Lisa had enjoyed this work because it had given her something to do besides sit at home and read talking books all summer.
The week before, Lisa's father had gotten a speeding ticket and it had been discovered that his driver's license had expired. So, her father had been given a summons to appear in traffic court and here they were. Lisa had not been with her father when he had gotten the ticket but she was here with him now and she thought she would have given anything to be home right now, reading a talking book.
The surroundings made Lisa nervous. Armed policemen came and went through the outer door every few minutes. Around the corner from where they were sitting, it was apparent that a woman was meeting with her lawyer. From the conversation, Lisa figured that the woman had been arrested for drunk driving but could not remember the incident. Although Lisa was not being charged with any crime, she felt like a criminal, sitting with her father in the crowded waiting area.
After what seemed to Lisa to be an extremely long wait, they were finally called into the courtroom. "Dad," said Lisa, trying to hide her apprehension. "You go ahead. I'll wait here."
"Oh, come on," said Lisa's father and by the tone of his voice, she could tell that he sensed her fear of the courtroom and found it rather amusing. She realized that unless she wanted to create a scene right there in the waiting area, she had no choice but to follow him inside.
In the center of the courtroom, there was a large table with several chairs. This was surrounded by several benches, on which Lisa and her father found places to sit. There were several others in the room, who were also appearing before the judge as well. Some of them sat at the table while others found seats on the benches. Lisa found herself sitting next to yet another armed policeman and this did not make her feel any better. She instinctively moved away from him and closer to her father.
Once everyone was seated, they were all instructed to rise while the judge entered the room. JUSTICE
After they all sat down again, the proceedings began. One by one, each person appearing before the judge was told of the charges against them and of the maximum penalty for these charges. They were then asked for their pleas and if they pleaded guilty, they were sentenced accordingly. Some were even taken away in handcuffs to serve jail time. If they pleaded innocent, more court procedures were scheduled.
When it was Lisa's father's turn, Lisa was shocked to learn that the maximum penalty for driving with an expired driver's license was a $100 fine, $10 in court costs, and ninety days in jail. Lisa thought that ninety days in jail for driving with an expired license was a bit ridiculous but then another more distressing thought popped into her head. If her father was incarcerated today, she would be on her own and since she could not drive due to her visual impairment, this was a very scary thought indeed. Lisa had been going away to college for the past year but this was something totally different. Lisa would be in a strange town where she knew no one and she would have no way of getting home. Unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Lisa would not be able to just click her heels three times and think to herself that there is no place like home.
On the other hand, in Lisa's father's station wagon, there were bags loaded with over $200 in coins which they had collected from machines that day. Lisa figured her father would let her use some of that money, given the circumstances, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to find the car. Now, wouldn't it be something if she were arrested for attempting to break into someone else's car in the parking lot of the police and courts building? Lisa almost laughed at the thought.
If she was successful at obtaining that money, she could take a bus home. But how would she get to the bus station? Could the police help her? Of course not. Cops these days were to busy to help some poor blind girl find her way home.
"Guilty, Your Honor." Lisa's father's words cut into her thoughts. Lisa crossed her fingers and although she was not religious, she bowed her head in prayer.
"Well, sir," said the judge. "I'll fine you $50." That was it. No jail time. Lisa sighed with relief.
"But that's too much," replied Lisa's father. Lisa's heart sank. Why couldn't her father just pay the $50 and be done with it? "I got my license renewed last week," her father continued.
"May I see it, please?" asked the judge.
Lisa's father rose and approached the bench. After a few whispered words were spoken between him and the judge, Lisa's father turned and called to her. Fearing the worst, Lisa rose and went to her father. To her relief, they were immediately ushered into the clerk's office, which adjoined the courtroom. The clerk, a cheerful woman in her mid thirties, chatted amiably about the weather while Lisa's father wrote a check. Soon, they were out in the parking lot. Although it was still hot, Lisa was glad to be out of that building. However, she couldn't help wondering what had transpired between her father and the judge.
"What happened?" she finally asked as they were getting into the car.
"Well," said Lisa's father, lighting a cigarette. "I only had to pay $10 in court costs and that was it."
"And to think, you could have spent ninety days in jail." said Lisa.
Lisa's father started the car and then patted her affectionately on the knee. Then, he said something that made her feel glad to be considered a little girl, despite her twenty-three years. "Well, honey. I think the judge saw that I had brought my little girl to see justice done."