Karma on a Sunday Afternoon
Since Louise broke her elbow I've been on full-time chauffeur duty. I drive three generations (her parents live in the basement) of family members here and there - school, work, grocery store, etc. I would do it even if I didn't like it, because, well, they're family (see my last post).
But it just so happens I love driving. When Louise and I first met we discovered this fact right away and were delighted. She doesn't care for driving. I love being at the wheel. I especially love road trips. I still don't mind city driving too much, except when I'm in a hurry. Or when I'm in a bad mood.
One day last week I was in a bad mood AND I was late for something. Having forgotten something at home, I sped through a nearby residential area, narrowly avoiding detection by a policeman who was idling at an intersection and whose line of vision was temporarily blocked by a SUV. Judging by the way he stared at me as I passed him, I'm sure he sensed something was up. Now, this is a quiet residential area with three schools. I really deserved to be punished.
Yesterday I was driving Louise somewhere. This time I was driving on an insanely busy stretch of Weston Road near Albion. I had just passed up over the 401, down under the Albion overpass, and was motoring along a a good clip when, BAM, I got the wave-over. You know that angry cop wave - the shame wave. Rigid finger on one hand and radar gun in the other: "Gotcha, buddy. Get the fuck over here."
I'm not sure if profanity was going through his mind at the time, but it was going through mine.
I was doing 71 in a 50. How such a bustling area gets a 50 km/hr designation is beyond me. The flow of traffic demands speed there. It's a busy interchange teeming with cars jockeying for position. Anyway, I got my first speeding ticket since high shool (1984 or so), and $103.75 worth of karma to boot.
At first I was pissed off for getting snagged in speed trap. Then I thought about the kids in that residential area. While helping my own family I had forgotten to think about other families. That's bad.
So, I quietly folded my ticket, told the officer I had no questions, and slowly drove off. As I merged into traffic on Weston Road, I saw the young officer was waving an SUV into the same parking lot.
But it just so happens I love driving. When Louise and I first met we discovered this fact right away and were delighted. She doesn't care for driving. I love being at the wheel. I especially love road trips. I still don't mind city driving too much, except when I'm in a hurry. Or when I'm in a bad mood.
One day last week I was in a bad mood AND I was late for something. Having forgotten something at home, I sped through a nearby residential area, narrowly avoiding detection by a policeman who was idling at an intersection and whose line of vision was temporarily blocked by a SUV. Judging by the way he stared at me as I passed him, I'm sure he sensed something was up. Now, this is a quiet residential area with three schools. I really deserved to be punished.
Yesterday I was driving Louise somewhere. This time I was driving on an insanely busy stretch of Weston Road near Albion. I had just passed up over the 401, down under the Albion overpass, and was motoring along a a good clip when, BAM, I got the wave-over. You know that angry cop wave - the shame wave. Rigid finger on one hand and radar gun in the other: "Gotcha, buddy. Get the fuck over here."
I'm not sure if profanity was going through his mind at the time, but it was going through mine.
I was doing 71 in a 50. How such a bustling area gets a 50 km/hr designation is beyond me. The flow of traffic demands speed there. It's a busy interchange teeming with cars jockeying for position. Anyway, I got my first speeding ticket since high shool (1984 or so), and $103.75 worth of karma to boot.
At first I was pissed off for getting snagged in speed trap. Then I thought about the kids in that residential area. While helping my own family I had forgotten to think about other families. That's bad.
So, I quietly folded my ticket, told the officer I had no questions, and slowly drove off. As I merged into traffic on Weston Road, I saw the young officer was waving an SUV into the same parking lot.
posted by oakwriter | 4:26 AM
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