Nice Beats Asshole

-
I got a speeding ticket today. A word to the wise for my Austin friends, the officer said that they are trying to crack down on the speeding on Manchaca. I got nailed between Slaughter and Wm. Cannon. I wasn't pissed. In fact, the cop commented that he wished all of his stops were as nice as me. Seriously, what was my choice? Get mad at him? For doing his job? He didn't push my foot down on the gas pedal and  make me go 60 in a 45. And truly, the law of averages being what it is, I was long, long overdue. I was speeding and got caught. This time. I didn't get caught the 4,977 times in the past week I could have been caught. I'll pay my fine (or take defensive driving) and call it good.

I can't say I was as pleased with my last ticket. It was 5:30ish in the morning. I was on my way to Dallas for an HR staff meeting. I'd been up since 3amish and probably got a sum total of four hours sleep the night before. I was on Interstate 30 cruising through Cumby, Texas at roughly 72mph. It sounded reasonable until I saw the lights flashing in the rearview and wondered just what in the fuck I was doing wrong. Oh, the speed limit is 65 at night (it's 70 during the day), Officer? Trust me, it won't do any good to explain to him, in the pitch black darkness, that 5:30am is DAY to you because you've already been up two hours. Nope, those Cumby cops are pretty serious about their speed limit and the definition of 'night' vs. 'day'. I begrudgingly took the ticket and I'm sure I paid it.

I've been lucky lately with as much driving as I've been doing. I try my best to keep it within ten over the limit. For example, on my night driving adventures I stay a hair below 75. Once it's daylight, I gun it up to a hair below 80. Something (I think it's a rationalization) tells me that I'm safe with ten over. The cops want the big score - like 20 or more over. My measly ten over isn't worth their time. I think that's what got me nailed today. I was going nearly 60 in a 45 - fifteen over. If only I'd been going 54 or even 55, I'm sure he'd have let me go.

Ah, well... It was just my turn today. And, the moral of the story? Be nice. Nice got me a ticket for five over when he easily could have blasted me for the full fifteen. I'm sure it'll save me a little money and I just feel better for it. Nice beats asshole in most situations, traffic stops included. Who would have thought?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Biggest Fan

-
It comes for all of us. If we're lucky. Right now, I'm not sure I feel lucky, but I know in the days, weeks, months, and years to come, I will come to realize that I am. Or I was. My parents are elderly, eighty-four and ninety-two. From where I'm sitting at the moment - my mother's hospital room - it's doubtful that my mom will reach tomorrow, much less eighty-five, So here I sit. And write...while  my biggest fan lays a few feet away snoring like a freight train. Her snores mean she's still alive so rather than drowning them out with music, I listen, Intently. Because each one could be her last. It's the drugs - her pain was pretty severe - making her sleep so soundly. These same drugs, the ones that keep the pain at bay, may also hasten her death. Her decision. She's been kicking cancer's a** for the past seven years. My mom's no sissy; she can endure. But this isn't the cancer, the known quantity. This is an aneurysm, a ticking time bomb...
Read more

Ironic, Actually

-
A couple days ago, I posted my first ever vlog. It was  just me reading an old blog from December 2018 called, "Courage, Actually." I chose it specifically because it's about accepting life's challenge and fearlessly stepping outside your comfort zone. Making and posting a video of myself was a big step outside my personal comfort zone - in fact, I have long said it's something I would never do - so I felt the topic was timely and appropriate. Reception of the vlog among my Facebook friends and followers was immediately positive. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Courage for the win. I worry, though, that I have falsely painted myself as some courageous-comfort-zone-and-fear-defying crusader. In reality, that's just not me. Not these days...and I think it's time for me to come clean. It's kind of ironic, actually. And hard for me to admit. This might be the barest I have stripped myself in a long time. For the past few months, I have been mired in ...
Read more

Be That Person

-
 A friend texted me last night. Her almost twelve year old son is starting middle school today and she was more than a little stressed. I guess it's somewhat normal for parents to be nervous about such milestones in their children's lives. I mean sixth grade means a bigger school, perhaps switching classrooms, more complex homework assignments, etc, etc. I'm sure there's also some wistfulness about the whole thing. The "My baby's growing up" kinda thing. My friend's concerns last night (and again this morning) were far larger. You see, her son is different. He always has been. Not only is he on "the spectrum," he also has Tourettte's. And he's on the fringes of non-binary. Plus, he lives on the border of Texas and Arkansas in a place that is far from open-minded and falls just below marginally accepting. This is the land of conservative politics (ie Trump), gun rights, big religion, and the concomitant "family values" that i...
Read more