Witness

 I was involved in a car accident a couple of months ago.  The youngest child and I survived.  My front bumper took a beating, though.

I was driving the child to school (she had late arrival and I was being nice).  I saw the accident start; one car hit another.  The car that got hit, spun through the intersection then skidded until it hit the front of my car.  I was stopped, fifteen feet from the start of the intersection thinking, "I'm a witness, how am I going to get the child to school and be here when the police arrive?"  That changed when my car was hit. The car that caused the accident was an Uber driver.  Yes, he just picked up his passenger at the train station.  

A couple weeks after the accident, I received a letter in the mail requesting my presence at court as a witness for the accident.  I was a little leery about going.  The last time I was involved in an accident (23 years ago and not my fault) I showed up at court as requested and was repeatedly asked why I was in attendance by the judge.  

For the record, I did appear in court, armed with both letter requests (yes, I received two).  I had my speech prepared.  I thought I would be asked to describe what happened that day.  I thought it would be very formal.  The courtroom had some chairs set out in rows, the judge's large desk and a place for people to pay their fines.  I was called up with the Uber driver and stood there for a few minutes and then was dismissed.  The judge made sure to thank me for my time and to have a pleasant day.  

 I was a little disappointed that I didn't have to recount the events of that day but grateful for the appreciation shown by the judge.