every time
i see a parking meter
i think back
to my days
in grad school
it was a frenzied time
driving
everywhere
running
to classes
day and night
not sleeping much
running
to substitute teach
running
to student teach
running
to cater
running
to family events
running
to drive my daughter
back to college
ironically
we were university rivals
running
to interviews
and all that jazz
and
no money
and
no time
and so
parking
was not
on the radar
i was
always looking for a spot
close to class
in a hurry
playing the odds
parking
with construction crews
or
at almost expired meters
or
halfway in and halfway out
of legal street spots
and
tickets were piling up
until
one day
i came out
in between classes
and
my car was gone
i called the police
they said they had it
but
i had to
pay off all of my tickets
plus the new one
they had given me
before they towed it
to get it back
they had reached
their tipping point
i walked to the station
and got in line
with about 200 thousand or so
other students
paying off tickets
i waited patiently
i planned
when it was my turn
to tell them
that
i was a single mother
working 2 jobs
going to school
trying to balance everything
with no money
and
that i was doing all this
to follow my dream
and i hoped
they would grant me
compassionate dreamer’s amnesty
and call it even
but instead
they said
we’ll need 450$
cash or certified check
which seemed like a fortune
and so
i called my daughters
to come to the station
and
pick me up
and
take me
to ransom
my car back
and
this meant
ramen noodles
would be back too
and
my amnesty bubble was popped
but my dream was still intact
===
i was complimented on my driving today.
someone left a note on my windshield that said, ‘parking fine’
– author unknown
–
image credits: annarbor.com, neatorama.com, wsj.com
