A Handful of Rage

2/13/23

These photographs were taken on January 25, 2023 at 11:08 AM The location was in the front entrance driveway to an upscale hotel in the Georgetown, section of Washington DC.

The "Take It!" came as I quickly contemplated these two pieces of paper on the brick covered driveway to the entrance of a very nice hotel. For some reason - rather than pass them by - the print configuration ( even though partially crumpled ) reached out to me as being something I had seen before. Curiosity struck and I stopped and picked one piece up - and quickly was able to see what I held in my hand was - one part of a parking ticket that had been torn in half.

What flashed into my mind - was how many times I had gotten a parking ticked - and always seemed to be slightly sickened by the fact I had somehow been negligent and was by poor luck at the time - caught by one of the meter persons assigned to that part of the city - and issued the ticket. I somehow never can recall getting so angry that I tore up a ticket and threw it to the ground as a way to a faulty attempt to calm myself.

Not really having a design in mind - I picked up the other half of the ticket and cupped the two halves into my hand. The photo of this handful was taken - and put aside to think about.

Subsequent thought had me take the halves - and straighten them out - then match them up to look at the information they would provide about the offense. The price of the offense was $50 ( no small sum ) It was for not having registration stickers on the plates for the current year. The type of car - was a BMW.

I showed the photos to several of my unofficial evaluation team - and all liked the catch of the subject.

Had the ticket included the name of the recipient along with their address in Maryland - I would have put them in an envelope with a short note - and sent it to the BMW owner - to give them a second chance to reconsider - and make good on a legitimate violation - that if not tended to in a short amount of time - could result in a more expensive fine being imposed.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read this little account of what may have been a temptation for you as well.

Best wishes,

Bruce