A familiar phrase to us desis, even the ones like me who haven't been fortunate enough to travel by public transportation as much as now, in retrospect, I would have liked to.
My context is a little skewed this time! I'm the one asking for the tickets and its not because I have decided to leave my (not so) lucrative software job and become a Ticket Collector. But in fact, I have been lucky enough to be at the recieving end of those oh-so-joyous multi-colored slips of monetary leakage - Traffic Tickets!
I have been driving in India, for a long long time. Officially the age limit was 18. But I somehow convinced my parents to let me get an underaged license at 16 something with the promise that I wouldn't drive! Go Figure!
After having done that, I obviously wanted to drive! I wreaked havoc but in vain! Finally my parents agreed to let me drive if I would be with them and them alone! Well, thats an improvement. Wasn't the coolest thing though - telling your friends that you can drive, only with your parents around. Then they would suspiciously glance southbound to check if I had diapers on.
I did get caught on a few occassions for looking young (I use L'Oreal to make those wrinkles disappear) more than any offense I committed. But I would always get by with my wallet feeling a little lighter. How light all depended on how the cop who had caught you felt that day!
Here, its a little different. Its almost like I subscribe to "The Ticket Times". If I get pulled over by I cop, I definitely lose. Why? For those who haven't seen me, I'm not a visual treat like a Southern Californian artificially chiselled belle. I'm your regular desi guy with very little to offer apart from a breath mint perhaps. But wait...thats not it! There are other ways by which I get periodicals! There are cameras installed in specific locations and if you're unlucky enough, they will snap you! Happened to me on a couple of locations where I recieved a ticket at home! Yes! Without even being pulled over by a cop! I thought its a Christmas Special wherein the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) thanks its regular offenders! But alas! It was another ticket!
Even now, sometimes at night, I can see the lights change- green...yellow...no wait...its red already...(siren)...dammit!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
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5 comments:
maybe you should offer the Cop something more than a breath mint; you're close to SFO...
cameras waiting to catch your offences, very 1984!
Ahh!!! But my friend I am only physically close to SF. Ideologically and Preferentially I'm miles apart from your innuendo :-))
So all I had was a breath mint and perhaps a kind word!
hey i got a speeding ticket abt a week back- 84 on 70, but no points- just a freakin 100$ fine.
$100 ... thats appetizers compared to what I have paid the DMV!! Welcome to the world of Violations!
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