It was a momentous day in American history. But, by all indications, it was not a momentous day in the lives of most Americans.

So while the House of Representatives debated the impeachment of President Trump, one man in Houston was more focused on a $279 speeding ticket. Tourists in Chicago savored an impeachment-free shopping day. Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 401 in Albuquerque followed a simple mantra: “Anything but politics, man.”

Americans may be deeply invested in the outcome of impeachment. They might adore or loathe Mr. Trump. But as history played out Wednesday amid the bombast and rancor of impeachment proceedings, many of them seemed intent on looking elsewhere.

HOUSTON

Judgment Day

It was Judgment Day, but Ray Martin had no regrets about conduct or process.

Mr. Martin, 58, a building engineer, had decided to see what his newly purchased four-cylinder pickup truck could do on Interstate 45. It could do quite a bit, it turns out. He went to municipal court in Houston and accepted his $279 speeding ticket on Wednesday without complaint. “I didn’t even know I was doing 110,” he said.