First Ticket-May 10, 2009

I have promised to tell why the trip to Manteo was necessary for Kevin & Sean. But first, imagine this.......imagine that a pick-up truck had been going at over 100 mph and that someone had reported this to the police. Now imagine that there were three police cars watching and waiting for the pick-up driver. And lastly, imagine that the first car to come speeding by was not the pick-up driver, but instead a college kid with his twin sister and her friend as passengers.

Yep, you guessed it! It was 1:30 AM in the morning. Sean, Jenna & Laura had been on the road for 9 1/2 hours and were about 30 minutes from the cottage. It was a straight highway with no other traffic on the road, and Sean was tired and just wanted to reach his destination. He and Jenna & Laura had been driving carefully all day, but it was Sean & Jenna's birthday....they had been 20 years old for 1 1/2 hours, when all of a sudden.....what should come bearing down on them, but not one, not two....but THREE police cars....sirens blaring. Oops!

Sean's 20th birthday....and his first traffic ticket. And to make matters worse, he was going just slightly more than 20 miles per hour above the speed limit....which meant that he got a reckless driving citation.....which meant that he HAD to appear in court in Dare County, NC, on July 2nd, or else pay a lawyer to appear for him. Double oops!

But the next part will show what the type of person that Sean is. He was SICK about the ticket. But he was polite to the police officer and I know he was nice because when the officer noticed that it was Sean's birthday, he told him that he was so sorry that he had to give him a reckless driving ticket, but that he had already called it in since they had been on the lookout for the pick-up driver. But then he told Sean what he could do....and that meant going to the courthouse in Manteo......speaking directly to the prosecutor.....and asking if there was any way to have the charge reduced to a regular speeding ticket. Sean said that if he did have to go to court in July, that he was going to make a point of telling the judge how nice the police officer was. I know from experience that a police officer is usually not going to be that helpful unless he is really impressed by the character of the person whom he is stopping. Police are used to hearing all kinds of excuses, but Sean just told him the truth. He said that he was on his way to Duck and that he was tired and that he just did not realize how fast he was going and that he was sorry.

We were all sick about it when Sean told us. We felt so sorry for him....his very first ticket....on his 20th birthday.....and on his way to a nice vacation at the beach. I was afraid that it would ruin his vacation....but luckily it didn't....and one reason why it didn't was Kevin's reaction to the news. He didn't yell at Sean....he didn't try to make him feel guilty or to shame him...he just told Sean that he was really sorry that happened to him and that he would go with Sean to the courthouse and do whatever he could to help. So, they went to the courthouse. The prosecutor was in court all day, but her receptionist was very helpful and took down all the information and told them that she would talk to her boss and see what she could do for them.

So.....on Wednesday the prosecutor called. So far it sounds pretty promising. She told Kevin that she would need Sean's driving record and proof of his hours of volunteer work, and proof that he would be working with kids all summer and proof of his coaching internship and that once she got all that, she would then speak with the police officer and if his report was good, that she would more than likely be able to get the charge reduced. So we're feeling pretty hopeful about it. Sean told his Dad that he had enough in his savings to cover the fee and that he didn't want his Dad to have to pay one penny for his mistake. Let me tell you....that is one good kid!

But can you imagine turning 20....on your way to a much anticipated vacation....and only being 20 for 1 1/2 hours and getting pulled over and getting a reckless driving ticket? Sean said that he knew one thing for sure and that is that he will NEVER forget his 20th birthday! I believe him!