everybody knows you only live a day but it's brilliant anyway
today is independence day. as of june 8th, 2007, I am lawsuit-free. No one is suing me anymore. I am a defendant no longer. See, for the past two+ years I have had at least one, and as many as two*, lawsuits against me. Three years ago I was in a car accident where a young boy got hurt, and even though I wasn't at fault I still got sued. It's been fun and games ever since. Re-living the event over and over in my head, worrying about being called to testify or whether my insurance would cover any potential liability I might owe, worrying about speeding or getting a ticket which could hurt my defense, wondering whenever would it end.
the final arbitration hearing was yesterday. it took three years, which is "pretty quick" according to my attorney. this was the first time I actually had to testify under oath, but it wasn't all law & order, it was just a couple of lawyers and a judge sitting in a conference room on a hot day in suburban detroit. this was also the first time I'd seen the boy since the accident. he's grown up a lot in the past three years, from a skinny kid to a young man. I remember his face very clearly from that day after crouching by him for ten or fifteen minutes trying to apply some meager first aid while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
I haven't any clue what he's gone through since then. I wonder whether he thinks about the accident like I do, or what his plans are for his future. I wanted to tell him very sternly and earnestly that I hope he uses any money awarded to him to go to college. But of course I couldn't. I didn't get to share one word with him and he hardly looked at me. Will he think about this when he's older? Will he wonder if I'm some mean guy and harbor resentment against me for years?
in other news, i didn't die yesterday (a huge relief to all). no threatening 9-year-old gangsters shot me upside my head while I slept.
In every end there's a new beginning.
*for those who don't know (and may you never have to confirm for yourself), a divorce is technically a lawsuit. The filing party becomes the plaintiff and the other person is the defendant. Adds loads of yummy jam on top of an already delicious situation.
the final arbitration hearing was yesterday. it took three years, which is "pretty quick" according to my attorney. this was the first time I actually had to testify under oath, but it wasn't all law & order, it was just a couple of lawyers and a judge sitting in a conference room on a hot day in suburban detroit. this was also the first time I'd seen the boy since the accident. he's grown up a lot in the past three years, from a skinny kid to a young man. I remember his face very clearly from that day after crouching by him for ten or fifteen minutes trying to apply some meager first aid while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
I haven't any clue what he's gone through since then. I wonder whether he thinks about the accident like I do, or what his plans are for his future. I wanted to tell him very sternly and earnestly that I hope he uses any money awarded to him to go to college. But of course I couldn't. I didn't get to share one word with him and he hardly looked at me. Will he think about this when he's older? Will he wonder if I'm some mean guy and harbor resentment against me for years?
in other news, i didn't die yesterday (a huge relief to all). no threatening 9-year-old gangsters shot me upside my head while I slept.
In every end there's a new beginning.
*for those who don't know (and may you never have to confirm for yourself), a divorce is technically a lawsuit. The filing party becomes the plaintiff and the other person is the defendant. Adds loads of yummy jam on top of an already delicious situation.
random bits cobbled together by j-dub
4 Comments:
Congratulations! (is that an appropriate response?) I just know how this has been weighing on you and I'm so glad it has come to an end. So, congratulations :)
no, congratulations is perfectly appropriate. katie and I celebrated with sangria at dominick's last night.
Hopefully, I'll be celebrating in similar fashion on June 20th. I, for one, didn't know a divorce could take this long when neither party has any freaking money or property.
But, more importantly...congratulations to you!!
good luck with that, terroni. mine was about as simple as they come, and it still sucked horribly.
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