a day in the life

friday july 27th 2007 is a day i am never going to forget
which probably means i shouldn't have to write a blog posting about it
but blog=therapy=get it out of the system=justification=it's my blog anyway
on that day i was arrested and charged with common assault
i'm only talking about it now publically (well at least to the 2 of you that read my blog)
because the matter has gone to court and has more or less been resolved
the details of the incident are not that relevant at this point in time
least to say i kind of tripped up and technically at least committed said crime
silly me got involved in a domestic argument that involved some hands-on
in an attempt to try and placate a situation that seemed to be getting out of hand
you're not allowed to do that
it's called common assault
the lowest form of assault
but a crime nonetheless
i had a feeling i had overstepped the mark at the time and calmly extricated myself from the scene
and my worst fears came true later in the day with a call from the police
requesting my attendance at the newtown police station to attend to the matter
i assumed i would be asked to make a statement about the matter for their consideration
wrong - upon arrival at the station i was immediately placed under arrest and led away
and in semi-shock mode went through the process of having my possessions taken away
my rights were read to me and the offer to make a voluntary audio/visual statement
which without advice i agreed to do while the incident was fresh in my memory
in the company of 2 police officers i then completed that a/v statement
i was finger-printed and photographed
then placed back in a holding cell while paperwork was prepared and exchanged
that process took 3 and a half hours
which allows for a lot of thinking time and a lot of observation time
i had company for an hour or so in the adjacent cell of a young chap
who i gather had done the wrong thing by his pregnant girlfriend
i don't think she had been seriously hurt and i also think he learnt his lesson
the police were very good to him but i don't know what became of him
i sincerely hope she and he are ok and now looking forward to the big day when their twins are born
the police were very good to me as well
in fact i was very much in awe of their professionalism and attitude
friday night in the watch-house at newtown police station is hardly likely to be a fun place
but in my observation (not much else to do) they were above reproach
and certainly made it easier for me to sit and contemplate where this was all heading
upon release i wandered out into the party atmosphere of king street with documents in hand
advising of a date for the court appearance
it was a strange walk home as i felt very disconnected from everything around me
one of the things that occurred to me while in the holding cell
is that once again in my life circumstances have conspired to force a change
that can either be ignored, resisted or embraced
for there are a lot of things going on in my life that need attention
have been left unattended for too long while dealing with the moment after moment after moment
so i made a conscious decision in that time to start attending to said matters
and in the 10 days since then have had a number of conversations mainly with friends and acquaintances
decided i needed to ask for some help and support
i have been quite literally overwhelmed by the response
i had the court appearance today
another humbling experience sitting in the court watching and observing
i had no real idea before but now believe the legal system is very understanding
it doesn't really want to cause us any grief unless we severely provoke it
i sat and watched case after case where the presiding magistrate was firm but fair
advised people of what he could and couldn't do
and handed down sentences consistently i thought leaning to the lenient
i took no comfort from that as i was well aware of the serious nature of my charge
i had decided to plead guilty and my case was presented very well by my lawyer
he handed over the references i had gathered from friends, ex-partners, clients, bosses and business partners
all of which i also rate as the best friends anyone could wish for
my lawyer quite sincerely told me they were the best set of references he had ever seen
i have no doubt this was of enormous help to me
it's not all over yet but i'm going to be a good boy
not just because i have to but because i want to
i've been humbled you see
thanks, love and/or respect to all involved