Wednesday June 6 The after-aftermath

Is there such a thing as a good phone call at 2 a.m.?

I don't think so. I have never gotten one.

Last night, my phone rang at 2:30. It was Primo. I thought he was calling to tell me that he was going to be even later than he thought, which was dumb because he has never done that: why would he wake me up just to tell me he wouldn't be home yet?

No. He was calling to tell me that the car had been towed.

Not that I could do anything about it. He had taken the red car. We also have an old Corvair that I have never driven and probably never will drive. The Corvair lives in the garage. Backing a car out of the garage requires navigating the Narrow Straits of DON'T HIT THE HOUSE! DON'T SCRATCH THE CAR!

I am not a good back-outer. If backing out is necessary - if Primo has put the red car in the garage because of expected snow (which just means that we have to shovel twice as much driveway, so I don't get it - I'd rather brush snow off a car than shovel), then he also gets it out of the garage and places it past the Narrow Straits.

So.

1. Two thirty in the morning.

2. Corvair

3. in the garage

= I wasn't going to be able to get him.

What I could do is look up information about the city and towing.

Jerks.

Our city has a line item (over a million dollars) on the annual budget showing expected revenue from parking fines and related items, i.e., $125 towing fees and $20 a day storage fees at the lot.

As in, our city plans for parking fees. Parking enforcement's motto is, "Ticket first, ask questions later."

Now, Primo was parked in a tow-away zone. He had parked there at 10:30 p.m. Parking was illegal from 2:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

That tow truck must have been waiting, lurking. I am guessing that at 2:01 a.m., our car was hooked up and ready to go.

I know, I know. I know Primo should have paid attention. I know he broke the rules. But some rules are stupid. And the purpose of government is not to make money off drivers.

I found the public works website. The impound lot wouldn't be open until 8:00 a.m. You have to show your car title, your insurance, and ID to reclaim the car. And the money. There was no point in Primo trying to get the car now.

He caught a cab and came home. He was cranky. I was cranky, too.

"Aren't you mad at me?" he asked. "Aren't you going to yell?"

I shook my head. "This is dumb tax. We have to pay it occasionally. Go to sleep."

We learned when we went to pick up the car that the zone had turned into no-parking at 2:00 a.m. The ticket had been issued at 2:06 a.m. The car was towed at 2:13 a.m.

If only all government services were this efficient.