"Sheriff Shocks Normal"----Fiction

Well it sure is good to have school over. Time to head on up for a little quiet fishing up in northern Minnesota at my favorite fishing hole, Normal, Mn. My in laws just bought a place near Lake Sylvia, so I combined a little moving of furniture with a chance to fish.

As soon as I drove into Normal, I stopped at Betty Lou's for a strong black, extra sugar coffee in those classic Minnesota dark purple Minnesota Viking mugs----Betty Lou never did learn how to make a mocha, so she just made it all extra strong.

As soon as I had settled in the booth, I was joined by my old friend Herman, the countryboylawyer, who also served on the Normal Minnesota school board. Herman started right in:

"Wolfman, we've had a real shock up here. Have you heard?"

"Nope" I said. What is up?"

"Last Friday night, with no warning, Sheriff Bob of the Normal County police force conducted one of them traffic stops at the only entrance to Normal, Mn. there is, and he ticketed almost half the town for drunken driving."

"Wow." I exclaimed. What is shocking about that?, I asked.

"Well," Herman went on, "it was just totally unjustified legally. We had just no warning at all. It came right out of the blue. I am just swamped representing half the town for the defense. I'm working 7 days a week with all the fact finding and such."

'What is going to be the theory of the defense?" I wondered.

"It's pretty slick, Herman exclaimed. I am going to plead that because everyone knows we have been competing for the highest drinking state with Wisconsin, and therefore we have had it in our civic pride to drink as much as humanly possible, it is just unfair to convict us on a crime even if everyone was sloshed."

"But Herman, ignorance never is a defense---what else do you have?

"O.K. Herman went on, I have pled a theory of "estoppel" in the alternative. Since the law has not been enforced in these parts since Prohibition, the civil authorities are "estopped " from enforcing them."

"Wow", I exclaimed. that is turning the law against itself. I wonder."

Well. It sure is good to be back in good old Wisconsin. Where after competing with Minnesota for 75 years, at least we would put out a press release that suddenly the law would be enforced----that would be the gentlemanly thing to do.