I was in court all day covering a murder trial and missed the nine phone calls and 23 emails alerting me to a wreck involving a school bus earlier today on Union Road.

As wrecks go, the incident involving Bus 39 wasn’t a a major accident. The school bus driver hit a car while trying to turn the bus around.

But given recent public anxiety over school bus drivers caught speeding and running stop signs, it warranted a "Breaking News" heading on The Roanoke Times web site and a quick spin on the story from Mike Carr, Floyd County school system transportation director.

"It just hit it backing up," Carr told The Times. "That’s all it is."

It was a little more than Carr told the Times. The Virginia State Trooper who worked the accident told me that he could have issued citations to drivers of both the car and the bus but decided to let it pass since both were at fault and no one was hurt. Yet the accident was bad enough that 10 students were transferred to another bus.

Carr’s dismissive attitude is distrubing, as is the "look the other way and claim everything is fine" reactions we get from County School Superintendent Terry Arbogast. Sources inside the school system tell me accidents involving buses happen more than the school system is willing to admit. Most just don’t get reported.

Regular readers of this web site know I’m no fan of Starbucks. Anyone who confuses coffee with the acidic swill served by the Seattle-based chain has no taste buds.

So I guess it was bad karma that caused my ticket number to be drawn at a raffle at the end of a motorcycle poker run Sunday. My prize: A bag of Starbucks coffee beans.

As I sit here sipping my fourth cup of coffee of the morning, I’m still considering what to do with the bag of beans. Can’t throw it away: The Environmental Protection Agency would consider that disposal of toxic waste. Maybe I should grind it up and scatter on the lawn. The stuff would probably kill weeds and moles.

Floyd, thankfully, is too small and not yuppie enough to host a Starbucks and the company has fallen on well-deserved hard times anyway. Fortunately, for lovers of real coffee, we have many choices for a good cup of joe.

Quick serve markets like West End and X-Press Mart pour a lot of coffee in the morning for commuters headed to jobs inside and outside the county. We also have three — yes, three — "coffee shops."  Cafe del Sol in the Winter Sun, Over the Moon on top of the Harvest Moon and Blackwater Loft, which caters to the area’s younger set. All three shops have the decency to serve real coffee and not the acidic-based toxin that Starbucks tries to pass off as coffee.

Drew three nines in a motorcycle poker run benefit for Dalmatian Rescue of Southwestern Virginia Sunday (yes, we rode in the rain).

That three-of-a-kind hand took the grand prize: A $300 tattoo from Asylum Studios in Salem.

Ohmigod! Did he say tattoo?

Yep. At 61, I’m getting some new ink. Amy decided she wanted a tat when she turned 50 and she got a nice one of a parrot from an ex-con in Belleville, Illinois.

I’ve been considering some new body art for a while now but never got around to making a decision or taking the step.

Now, with a certificate for $300 worth sitting in my wallet, I’ve got to make some decisions:

• What design to get?
• Where to put it? (And I get a lot of advice on where I can put things)
• And when to have it done.

Suggestions are welcome. It will be motorcycle-related, so keep that in mind.