i fought the law...
and i won! well, the victory wasn't all that sweet...or victorious, i suppose.
see, last month, just 4 days after getting my new car, i got a ticket. no, not a speeding ticket or one or the more illustrious ones...a parking ticket. that's right, a palsy $27 parking ticket. needless to say, when i walked to my car a 4:30 the next morning to go to work, seeing said ticket did nothing to brighten my mood.
i could have paid for the ticket. it would have saved me from losing a morning of sleep if i did, but i refused to lie down so easily. i wanted to learn what i was really being ticketed for as my car was sitting contently outside of my house. the cop, in his (or her) shoddy handwriting, underlined/crossed out something, but i wasn't sure what exactly he (or she) was trying to say. did i back into the parking space? the parking space that didn't exist, but was just the side of the road? or was i parked more than 18" from the curb? had the cop really gotten out of his (her) car with a measuring tape and actually measured and found that i was...12" from the curb? that's right, i measured, too. and then, written by the amount i would have to pay in up to 7, 8, and 30 days, depending on when i decided to pay, was the phrase "parked on wrong side". of the street? i questioned.
first off, perhaps it's my fault for not knowing the law, and furthermore, to engage in a game of 'monkey see, monkey do', but many other people in my neighborhood were parked that exact same way that night, and i don't believe they got a ticket, seeing as though no windshields were adorned with that dreaded paper like mine was as i perused the 'hood' at 4 am. not even my dad's car, which was parked right behind mine, in the exact same direction, at the exact same time was ticket-free, so i was really wondering why my car was singled out. was it simply that new car smell that attracted the cop to it? to prove my case, if i was asked to do so, i whipped out my camera and documented the footage (i've seen enough tv shows to know what to do). getting the pictures developed was an adventure in and of itself, but let's not get into that...
so adamantly, i requested a hearing to find out the exact reason for my ticket. this morning at 10:45 am, in front of judge hazel (male), in courtroom 7, my case was to be heard. and i showed up with 1 minute to spare, stated my name, had a seat and...sat...for a while. and at 10:59 am, the judge realized that the cop wasn't going to show, dismissed my case, and freed me of my lawful obligation of paying what had now ballooned to $74 in parking ticket. a bit of an anti-climatic end to what was a situation that made me a little upset, but at least i have said money in my pocket and i was not forced to pay a charge that i was unsure of why i had recieved.
now i know i've dramatized this, which is what it most likely would have sounded like if i had have been able to state my case this morning. as i sat and waited, i realized i may have sounded like a spoiled child, whining about silly laws and paying silly tickets, but honestly, i just wanted an answer. i may not have gotten that answer, but at least i asked. and isn't that what this world is about? isn't that what people keep telling young people to do? ask questions? well, i did. and i'm glad i did. not just because i don't have to pay, but because it's a good skill to have/use. and i'm glad i live in a society where i am allowed to question what's going on around me and at least be taken seriously, even if a direct answer is not given. so i suppose that's my p.s.a., to all the young people, and people in general for that matter: don't be afraid to ask questions, even if it's something as simple as wondering why exactly you got that parking ticket. and that, my friends, is what i'm most proud of.
aw, who am i kidding? i'm just glad i don't have to pay!
ps - i knock on wood in hopes that my next ticket is far off into the future and still nothing more than a silly little parking ticket.
see, last month, just 4 days after getting my new car, i got a ticket. no, not a speeding ticket or one or the more illustrious ones...a parking ticket. that's right, a palsy $27 parking ticket. needless to say, when i walked to my car a 4:30 the next morning to go to work, seeing said ticket did nothing to brighten my mood.
i could have paid for the ticket. it would have saved me from losing a morning of sleep if i did, but i refused to lie down so easily. i wanted to learn what i was really being ticketed for as my car was sitting contently outside of my house. the cop, in his (or her) shoddy handwriting, underlined/crossed out something, but i wasn't sure what exactly he (or she) was trying to say. did i back into the parking space? the parking space that didn't exist, but was just the side of the road? or was i parked more than 18" from the curb? had the cop really gotten out of his (her) car with a measuring tape and actually measured and found that i was...12" from the curb? that's right, i measured, too. and then, written by the amount i would have to pay in up to 7, 8, and 30 days, depending on when i decided to pay, was the phrase "parked on wrong side". of the street? i questioned.
first off, perhaps it's my fault for not knowing the law, and furthermore, to engage in a game of 'monkey see, monkey do', but many other people in my neighborhood were parked that exact same way that night, and i don't believe they got a ticket, seeing as though no windshields were adorned with that dreaded paper like mine was as i perused the 'hood' at 4 am. not even my dad's car, which was parked right behind mine, in the exact same direction, at the exact same time was ticket-free, so i was really wondering why my car was singled out. was it simply that new car smell that attracted the cop to it? to prove my case, if i was asked to do so, i whipped out my camera and documented the footage (i've seen enough tv shows to know what to do). getting the pictures developed was an adventure in and of itself, but let's not get into that...
so adamantly, i requested a hearing to find out the exact reason for my ticket. this morning at 10:45 am, in front of judge hazel (male), in courtroom 7, my case was to be heard. and i showed up with 1 minute to spare, stated my name, had a seat and...sat...for a while. and at 10:59 am, the judge realized that the cop wasn't going to show, dismissed my case, and freed me of my lawful obligation of paying what had now ballooned to $74 in parking ticket. a bit of an anti-climatic end to what was a situation that made me a little upset, but at least i have said money in my pocket and i was not forced to pay a charge that i was unsure of why i had recieved.
now i know i've dramatized this, which is what it most likely would have sounded like if i had have been able to state my case this morning. as i sat and waited, i realized i may have sounded like a spoiled child, whining about silly laws and paying silly tickets, but honestly, i just wanted an answer. i may not have gotten that answer, but at least i asked. and isn't that what this world is about? isn't that what people keep telling young people to do? ask questions? well, i did. and i'm glad i did. not just because i don't have to pay, but because it's a good skill to have/use. and i'm glad i live in a society where i am allowed to question what's going on around me and at least be taken seriously, even if a direct answer is not given. so i suppose that's my p.s.a., to all the young people, and people in general for that matter: don't be afraid to ask questions, even if it's something as simple as wondering why exactly you got that parking ticket. and that, my friends, is what i'm most proud of.
aw, who am i kidding? i'm just glad i don't have to pay!
ps - i knock on wood in hopes that my next ticket is far off into the future and still nothing more than a silly little parking ticket.