Vindication!

Monday's mail brought a nice surprise: proof that the wheels of justice do roll on, even if it can take interminably long.

Even before I opened it, I could tell from the return address on the envelope that I'd gotten a refund for a parking ticket. Back in April, I'd gotten a $45 ticket for failing to plug a meter at a city park on a Sunday morning. I'd misinterpreted the small print on the machine to mean that paid parking hours wouldn't take effect until after Memorial Day. I drafted a letter, respectfully pointing out my error and sent it out to the faceless state circuit court, noting that I hadn't intended to avoid paying the $3 worth of time needed for the hike we took that morning.

And then I waited. And waited.

And, finally, the letter arrived -- with a "full refund" of $24.

Hmmm. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a few details. The check was sent to me at my old address. The citation number differed from the one I'd received in April. The amount of bail refunded was $21 less than what I had paid.

All that led me to realize the court was refunding a previous ticket -- one that I would have incurred before November, which is when we moved to our new address. In my hazy memory, I recall contesting that one, too, because the overtime parking ticket showed a time stamp that was outside the range of metered parking hours.

So, it appears that it took at least eight months for that appeal to result in a $24 refund. At that rate, I hope that means I'll receive my $45 refund just before Christmas.