Malati Marlene Shinazy at Traffic School
Awhile back I wrote a story entitled, “Paying Attention.” It was all about this luscious first date I went on and how I concentrated on every minutiae of the gorgeous man, meal and good-bye kiss. As I drove home, attention to detail flew out the window, replaced by a daydreaming drive — until I found myself looking up at the friendly face of the law, writing me a speeding ticket…. Flash forward to Traffic School.
As a first time offender, the state rendered a two-fold fine. I had to pay money (approximately $400) and time (Traffic School).
Traffic School was more than just “time spent,” however, as there was an irritating little decision to be made. Do I attend Traffic School:
- On-line? Or through live delivery?
- Comedy delivery? Or lecture?
- Lecture in posh college classroom thirty miles away? Or lecture in a drab community room two miles from my home?
I chose live lecture in the drab community room, two miles from my home. Heck, if the perfect summer day is going to be spent as an indoor hostage for 6.5 – 8.0 hours, what do I care if the seats are upholstered or plastic?
My attitude is: Go to traffic school and be done with it. My insurance company never hears about the speeding ticket and as long as I don’t get another one in 18 months, it disappears from my driving record. End of Story.
But the story doesn’t end! It took on a new life once I posted a photo of my fellow speed-demon Traffic School hostages on my Facebook page. By the flurry of responses this post received, one would have thought I had robbed a bank.
Friends felt obliged to scold me for speeding, tell their stories of how “they fought the law and won,” or chide me for getting caught (this reprimand came from a cop friend). Three days later, the tally of Comments approached 20.
The strangest statement was, “Has anyone here missed a mortgage payment?” The author of that non sequitur is a friend I’ve known since he was a baby MBA from an Ivy League university. He is now a senior executive for an $8 billion corporation. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he must have been drunk when he wrote that comment … If he was driving as well, he’ll be the next hostage in Traffic School.
photo by nathan e photography
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