My lawyer just called me to let me know that my next hearing at the Pazin Municipal Court, scheduled for April Fools’ Day, had been cancelled. He learned a few minutes earlier from the lawyer of my opponents, the mayor of Motovun and the Motovun Municipality, that the mayor had recently had a car accident in which he had suffered badly enough to reschedule the hearing. Apparently, his hip is broken.

Everyone in Motovun already knows about the accident, of course. After the last meeting of the municipal council a few days ago everyone went to one of the local drinking holes for a few shots. According to the grapevine, this is their habit. The mayor got a bit tipsy and called his younger brother to drive him home to Vrsar on the western coast of Istria, but the brother ended up by driving off the road not far from Motovun. That is one version of the story, though. The other is that the mayor called his brother only after he drove off the road in his brother’s car, and the brother took the responsibility to save the mayor from police investigation just before local elections. This may be nothing but malicious gossip, it goes without saying. At any rate, the mayor’s injury seems to be serious enough to call off the court hearing.

I am sorry about the mayor’s predicament, but I am quite glad about the postponement. The day scheduled for the hearing happened to fall on the eighth anniversary of my mother’s death. As she was born in Pazin, too, this particular day was especially difficult for me. As far as I am concerned, there could not have been a worse date for the hearing. Anyhow, the court will inform me in a few days about the date of the next hearing. It will be perfectly fine with me, I am sure.