The One with the Parking Tickets

I'm on a roll tonight and have numerous stories to tell. No, 'Africa' is not being published quite yet, but if you can hold off until the new year, you're going to be entertained. It'll be a great way to kick off a new theme for a new year!

I hope.

I've mentioned that my morning commute has changed. I didn't explain why, though.

Months ago, one morning when I missed the train, I'd been fighting with the pay parking machine. I punched in my parking stall number, just like I had everyday for 3 weeks. I'd put my money in, just like I had everyday for 3 weeks. This one morning, though, the machine kept giving me my money back. The train leaves as I'm trying to pay for parking and I end up driving in.

So, the following Monday, I start the little "dance" again. Stall number, money in, money comes back out. Again and again. Fine, screw it, and run for the train! I worry all day about a parking ticket, but assume when I return to my car that the machine was broken, hence, no ticket. The same thing happens on the Tuesday. Only this time, there's a $25 parking ticket. I"m not happy about it and resolve on the Wednesday that I'll be parking down a side street where the parking's free. I just have to run to catch the train!

All's well and good for a few months parking along the side street. That is, until one day I come back to my car and discovered a parking ticket on the window. It seems at some point either that day or the day before, the city put up no parking signs along the street. Somehow, with my leaving town before the Sun rises and coming home after it sets, I missed the tiny little signs. Truth be told, I had noticed one day that there was a metal post in a spot where I didn't recall seeing one before, but thought maybe a speed limit sign had fallen off.

As if getting the ticket for the surprise no parking section wasn't bad enough, I also discovered that the city had deemed a 40-foot section of the street as a no parking zone. 40-feet! Not the whole street! 40-feet of parking in front of trees, weeds, and blackberry bushes!!

So here was another $25 ticket staring at me for parking in the dark in a 40-foot section of no parking bush and "somehow" I missed the response deadline, which fell only on business hours of the day the ticket was issued... what the?!?!?!

The relief came when I realized I could easily fight the ticket. See, never in my life have I owned a 'Chysler'. Nor have I known anyone else to own a 'Chysler' either. And if they were to argue that it should read Chrysler, I'll give that to them too. I don't own a Chrysler, either. I just happened to buy my Japanese car from a Chrysler dealership.

Putting aside the ticket, I also decided that parking even further away was too risky. I checked the bus routes and discovered that the bus that stops directly in front of the train station runs right down my street. Well, how convenient is that?

So, my morning commute went from: 'drive, train, bus, train, bus' to: 'bus, train, bus, train, bus.'

And I couldn't be happier.