When I was younger, I had a small problem with authority. Of my many questionable ideas, I didn't think the speed limit pertained to me. While in college in Idaho, where speeding tickets were only $5o, I was pulled over an amazing amount of times. By the time I was 23, I believe I had collected about 17 moving violations!! And that doesn't even account for the times I was caught speeding and given a warning.
The combination of being an idiot, having a job with money to spend, being on my parents' insurance, and having a fast car almost cost me my right to drive.
I remember being away at college, probably having accumulated 3-5 speeding tickets in the previous few months when my Dad called. He told me that their insurance company had just notified them that their rates would be going up since I had gotten a ticket. Yes, 'a' ticket....singular. I recall thinking, "wait 'till the insurance company finds about the other four tickets." Sorry about that Mom and Dad.
The good news is, since my marriage (and the chance to pay for my own insurance), I haven't gotten any tickets! That's almost 13 years of being a slow-poke. Now days, I get passed all the time, especially by those college-age punks!
Unfortunately, my lovely wife has taken a different approach since our marriage. She likes to amass a ticket every 1-2 years, just enough for me to raise my blood pressure. Most have been of the speeding variety, but my favorite was being caught by a traffic camera rolling through a red-light, on a cell phone, with the kids in the back seat, eating a pizza, smoking a cigarette (maybe a slight exaggeration). Say 'cheese'. The funny thing is that every time she gets pulled over, she does what every woman should do...cry like you've never cried before. But for Mon, it's been to no avail, she undoubtedly still gets the ticket....until this week. She was pulled over and after some theatrics that only a professional actress would be proud of, she DIDN'T get a ticket. Good job Monica.
