A Handful of Rage

2/13/23

These photographs were taken on January 25, 2023 at 11:08 AM The location was in the front entrance driveway to an upscale hotel in the Georgetown, section of Washington DC.

 

The "Take It!" came as I quickly contemplated these two pieces of paper on the brick covered driveway to the entrance of a very nice hotel. For some reason - rather than pass them by - the print configuration ( even though partially crumpled ) reached out to me as being something I had seen before. Curiosity struck and I stopped and picked one piece up - and quickly was able to see what I held in my hand was - one part of a parking ticket that had been torn in half.

 

What flashed into my mind - was how many times I had gotten a parking ticked - and always seemed to be slightly sickened by the fact I had somehow been negligent and was by poor luck at the time - caught by one of the meter persons assigned to that part of the city - and issued the ticket. I somehow never can recall getting so angry that I tore up a ticket and threw it to the ground as a way to a faulty attempt to calm myself.

 

Not really having a design in mind - I picked up the other half of the ticket and cupped the two halves into my hand. The photo of this handful was taken - and put aside to think about.

 

Subsequent thought had me take the halves - and straighten them out - then match them up to look at the information they would provide about the offense. The price of the offense was $50 ( no small sum ) It was for not having registration stickers on the plates for the current year. The type of car - was a BMW.

 

I showed the photos to several of my unofficial evaluation team - and all liked the catch of the subject.

 

Had the ticket included the name of the recipient along with their address in Maryland - I would have put them in an envelope with a short note - and sent it to the BMW owner - to give them a second chance to reconsider - and make good on a legitimate violation - that if not tended to in a short amount of time - could result in a more expensive fine being imposed.

 

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read this little account of what may have been a temptation for you as well.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bruce

Write a comment

Comments: 6
  • #1

    SF1967 (Wednesday, 22 February 2023 00:55)

    As much as I have wanted to do this, it only gets worse if you ignore it.

  • #2

    Jim (Wednesday, 22 February 2023 00:56)

    I've been there!

  • #3

    Sally (Wednesday, 22 February 2023)

    My husband did this one time. I quickly went after it so a $40 ticket didn't eventually become a $100 ticket.

  • #4

    GpaJake (Wednesday, 22 February 2023 00:59)

    My city started cleaning the streets once a week and are now ticketing people if the cars are on the street instead of the driveway. We had family from out of town shortly after they began, so my house had 6 cars visiting and a driveway that supports two. I had to go to the city management building to explain the situation since obviously all those out of town guests shouldn't be responsible for a citation for parking in front of our house.

  • #5

    Gabe (Wednesday, 22 February 2023 01:00)

    Oooo, they might regret that eventually.

  • #6

    MHampy (Wednesday, 22 February 2023 01:01)

    I am glad to live in an area that mails all tickets, big or small. I've always wondered what happens if it blows off the window or something.