Sunday, February 10, 2008

I'm not in jail and my car's not impounded

My tags expired in January. Of 2007. This was brought to my attention in March, 2007, when Baltimore Parking Authority gave me a citation. Then another. And another. Still another. I've already written about the process of outstanding tickets without the possibility of tag renewal, so I won't frustrate us again with that.

So I thought I'd paid all of my tickets. Apparently I had overlooked one that, with interest, now totaled $789.13. If I didn't get to the court house to pay, I'd be booted. Now I've been booted before (I am a good person, and smart; just really simple minded about the big city) and that was not fun, I missed my flight home to KY.

I was pulled over on 83 for expired tags. Bad cop wanted to lock me up. "You know I could arrest you right now, repossess your car and auction it off, and see that your future insurance rates are tripled."

This is not the way we handle matters in Paducah. First off, I know everyone. Second, even if I didn't, his aunt so-and-so would have babysat my second cousin once.

Fortunately there was a good cop. He stepped to my window and sidechecked bad cop out. "This is what is supposed to happen, but I'm guessing you've made an innocent mistake."

Yeah, innocent mistake coupled with this city's back asswards system.

To be continued...
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Water People

I've never waited a table. You wouldn't want me to. But I imagine that waiters have their own lingo and codes. My boyfriend and I were on the receiving end of what could only be the unfavorable type of customer at an expensive restaurant, the--we'll just be having water customer. It's not that one meal at M&S was out of our league, especially since it was lunch. It wasn't that soup and salad was all we could afford. If anything, the waiter could have had a bigger tip because we weren't spending as much as we're used to on dining out. Needless to say after being ignored--Nobel Prize winner Weisel says indifference is worse than being treated with anger--and complimentary bread deprived, we did not leave a tip.

So here it is now--if people order water on a Saturday afternoon it might just be because they're hung over and saving room for a friend's pasta bolognese later.