We have all heard, A Stitch in Time Saves Nine, ‘ Word to the Wise is Sufficient, Measure Twice and Cut Once, and all the other Old Wives’ Tales.
I don’t always pay attention to such good advice. I try to do the right thing, but too often I neglect to take care of some necessary detail and I make a mistake.
I made a big one the other day.
When I park at Safeway, to make sure I can reach Safeway’s front door on foot without falling down, I look for one of the Disabled Spots to park my car. A Disabled Placard, or such a symbol on my License Plate, make my city chores a little easier.
If I had my new license plate with the Disabled Symbol on it, I would not have had a problem. I would not have needed to put a placard in my windshield window. However, the DMV had not yet sent me new plates for my new KIA.
I found a nice convenient ‘Disabled’ slot near the Safeway front door. I was happy. I was so pleased with myself, and in so much of a hurry to shop and go home, I forgot to put my blue plastic Disabled Placard on my rear-view mirror.
When I finished my grocery shopping, I was tired and anxious to get home. I was more tired than usual and focused on home because I was tired because I had worked out at Larry’s Iron Man Gym the hour before.
A mile down the Freeway, I woke up to notice a pretty pink piece of paper in my windshield wiper. That’s when I remembered I had not put my Disability Placard on the rear-view mirror when I parked.
Someone had left me a Parking Citation for being unauthorized in a Blue Parking Zone.
I have learned to follow the rule that, when a problem pops up, it is worlds better to take care of it as soon as possible. When I don’t, very soon the problem becomes larger, and before long without attention, big as a house.
I went to the Courthouse to plead my cause. The pleasant young lady heard my sad tale.
She said, “We cannot help you. Go to the City Hall. They may help you.”
I did.
“Help me,” I said to this second pleasant young lady in the City Hall.
“You may pay the fine, if you wish.”
That hefty fine, I could not afford.
“What else you got,” I said?”
I was growing desperate.
“Go to the Police Department,” she said. “Perhaps they can help you.”
I did.
When I walked into the new Lakeport Police Station, next to K-Mart, two men were fixing the new floor tiles. I told them what my problem was and they sent me to the Citation Desk inside. Once there, I repeated my sad tale to a third pleasant young lady.
“I have had a perfect driving record for forty years. Must I appear before the judge to plead my innocence and admit my lapse of memory? If there is a way to solve my problem now, I shall be so grateful I shall write about your kindness in my Wednesday column; The Witter Springs Chronicles in the Record Bee. It may help other old codgers, like me, to remember to post their Disabled Sign in their car when they should. Writing about it will help me remember.”
Through the open door, my new friends, the two workmen, heard my words. They had a good laugh at hearing me beg and my desperate fix.
To my happy surprise, the pleasant young Citation Desk lady said, “No problem. I see you have you Disabled Placard. This happens all the time. I shall take care of it.”
I said,” Thank you. I shall keep my promise.”
That’s what I did. Here it is.
Gene Paleno is a columnist and book author living in Witter Springs
