The Aerie
[My computers are testing my resolve to post a blog entry every day. I had significant portions of this written on my laptop when it froze solid, and upon rebooting the screen didn't seem to work. I'm hoping it's because the laptop had overheated, and will try it again in the morning.]
Yesterday started off badly when I cut my thumb on my sneaker. Yes, I cut my thumb on my sneaker. No, don't ask how. Yes, it still hurts, in fact I think it's getting infected. If I stop putting spacesbetweenmywordsyou'llknowIhadtohaveitremoved.Oh,wait,I hit the spacebar with my other thumb. Never mind.
Despite that inauspicious beginning, I found a penny on the ground as I began my day of errands. As I picked it up I heard, "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck." running through my mind. Of course, the saying is actually "Find a pin," but I figured "What the hell, I can use all the luck I can get," and dropped it in my pocket.
My first stop was the Post Office, to check my PO box. I parked in the free 15-minute-parking area underneath the main parking ramp, and walked down the length of the marble-and-brass lobby to the box section at the far end. It was here for 30 years that my father-in-law worked, and here where my meager company has it's postal address. The edge of my actual PO box is visible in the photo to left (which is why I decided to use it even though it's got the big "©" watermark).
Having come all that way to check my (empty) PO box, I decided to test my lucky penny by leaving my car in the free 15-minute lot, and walking over to the government center. An industrious police officer passing our house had on Saturday noticed as the serious safety issue that our license tabs had expired in May and not been updated. Acting quickly to protect society from dangerous scofflaws such as myself, he issued a citation for $120.00! I was heading over to the Hennepin County Government Center to show my appreciation by paying almost the same amount to buy the necessary license tabs and keep our community safe. So leaving my car in the 15-minute free parking, I made my way about six blocks across downtown.
Minnesota used to be known as a state that caught its terrorists and educated its young. Now we're known as the state that loses track of murderous sexual predators and shuts down government because Governor Tim Pawlenty owes his soul to a batch of zero-taxation idealogues called the "Taxpayer's League."
I mention this because my errand was made more pleasant by the fact that many of our now-largely-uneducated population proved incapable of distinguishing between State and County services, and believed the county government center would be closed because all State offices are closed. So the Hennepin County Government Center was only about half as busy as it would normally be if the State hadn't shut down.
I fairly quickly got a number, and paid for my license tabs. It occurred to me that if the Services department was not busy, possibly citation review was equally free. Normally appealing a citation involves a day spent saving maybe $20 in reduced fines, so I don't try it. But dashing downstairs, I obtained a number and the assurance that my case would be heard in 45 minutes.
Interpreting that to mean two hours, I started to head back to my car but was accosted by Scott, a very friendly fellow from my last job at Hell's Fargo, and we chatted briefly. I walked back to my car, still parked in the Post Office lot. No ticket awaited me, and the car itself was still there, so I attended to another errand by driving to the bank.
On the way there I was driving down University Avenue, right through the campus for which the street was named, when out of all the kazillion people who work at the U, who should I see but Alan - yet another refugee from Hell's Fargo. I rolled down my window as I passed and told him I'd just left, receiving a cheery thumbs-up. What the odds were of that encounter I couldn't begin to figure.
Stopped at the bank, stopped for a quick bite, and drove back downtown, taking the time to hunt up a meter with 30 minutes on it. Walked back to the Government Center two hours after I left, and my number was next up.
When they called me, a very pleasant fellow reviewed my situation: ticket for unrenewed tabs, $120. Tabs immediately renewed, $120.
"Why are you talking to me?" he asked.
"Total mercy-of-the-court thing," I told him. "We lost the notice in the household mess, but that's hardly an excuse seeing as for two months I parked behind the van and never noticed that the tabs had expired. I'm hoping for a penalty reduction, but whatever your decision I'll take care of it immediately."
He looked at the ticket again. "That's a pretty stiff fine," he said, "Actually it just went up on July 1st." I remained silent, hoping he'd cut the fine to whatever the pre-July-first rates were.
"Well, you got the tabs immediately... I think we'll just cancel the ticket."
I thanked him quickly but sincerely and headed out, feeling like a Big Winner. When I got back to my car the time I'd found on the meter had expired, but there was no ticket. Hooray!
Got home, told the wife. Very happy. We decided to go for a walk down by the river.
From a trail well up the embankment I noticed through the brush and down the slope what looked like a very regular array of four CDs next to an abandoned campfire near the water's edge. It was quite a way down a steep slope, so having no particular destination for our walk we decided to take the trail down to the river's edge, and double back to see what that was. We poked around a bit in the brush trying to find the spot, with no luck... but on our way back out found an unopened bottle of Michelob beer just resting in tbe brush. My wife was all for leaving it, but I'm not one to turn my back on a bottle of bad pilsner found in the mulch! We took it along.
Back atop the embankment we were able to look down and again spot the CDs, further along the riverbank than we had searched. Telling my spouse "Hold my beer," (which were I to have died in the descent would have made a fine set of Last Words), I scrambled down the embankment, returning shortly with a large, dirty CD folio full of compact discs.
Upon our return home I put the beer in the fridge and cleaned off the CDs. Here's what we got:
"Your Favorite Weapon" by Brandnew*
"Smile (featuring Lady Saw)" by Vitamin C*
"Europop" by Eiffel 65*
"The Writing's on the Wall" by Destiny's Child
"5" by Lenny Kravitz
"Merry Christmas" by Mariah Carey
*I have no idea who these artists are.
In addition to these commercial CDs, there were a dozen home-burned CDs labelled variously "Sugar Ray" (apparently the self-titled album), "Bitchin'", "Me Mix", "Another 18 Songs Mix", "Short Mix 14 Songs", "13 Songs In A Mix", "* *Mariah Carey Songs* *" (asterisks theirs), and an unlabeled CD containing "ATLiens" by OutKast, which Amazon indicates I'm going to have to remove from the family music fileserver.
But my favorite-titled home-burned CDs were "Fuzzy Navel Mix" (which I admired for its correct spelling of "navel",) the lengthy "Bee Bop Mix! Beep Boop Boop Beep Beep for Jenny", and the very mood-specific "I-Hate-You-All Cheer Up Mix!".
Including a few CDs which I discarded because they were visibly damaged, the total haul was about $100 of commercial CDs, (one of which, Lenny Kravitz, I might actually have considered purchasing) and about a dozen home burned CDs that shall be amusing to examine.
Measured up, the day was a big win. Many things balanced out: a pair of pleasant encounters with former coworkers baalnced out a thumb wounded on a sneaker. The $120 necessarily spent on license tabs was balanced out by $120 saved on an appealed citation. And of course I had a nice stroll with the wife, so I'm on top there.
Even in crass monetary terms, I did very well. I parked downtown all day without paying to park so that's about $10 saved. Down by the Mississippi I found about $100 of music, and a beer. Given a beer can run about $4 depending on where you buy it, so I'm up $114.00 on the day.
Well, actually $114.01, if you include my lucky penny.
Posted by Albatross at July 5, 2005 11:25 PM