bootymac wrote:Story time!
So it was cold and stormy night...lol. Nah, it was a perfect driving day.
I was rushing to a critical Mopar club meeting to source two black SRT chargers for a Fast 5 premiere event I was putting together that was going to be the biggest in the world outside of Brazil, Hollywood, and Atlanta. I had the car from the movie, as well as several people and cars that were on the ATL set coming for my event. I was working with a local Rave motion pictures theater that had a large patio area to set up a replica of the street racing set in ATL. So when people came out from watching the movie, they were immersed in the same cars and people they just saw on the big screen. We were even going to act some of the more famous scenes from the movie including the 'you never had me, you never had your car' just for fun. Afterwards, we would caravan the cars from the theater to the hottest club downtown and park them outside while inside we would have a Fast and Furious themed dance party with music from the movie as well as exclusive mixes by the house DJ. This was going to be for both Friday and Saturday nights and would have been the event of the decade.
Unfortunately, the worst outbreak of tornados in several years shut down the entire city Wednesday, and all my month's long hard work went down the drain. We did a smaller event at a theater 50 miles away, but it was nothing like what I had planned. Most people couldn't even attend as the entire area had a curfew and was in a state of emergency.
Anyways, I arrived at where the Mopar club meeting would normally be and there was a sign that this month's meeting was at an airport 20 miles away. So I jumped in the Accord and floored it. I was going 110 in a 65 when both Valentines went off and I saw the state trooper travelling on the opposite side of the highway. I jammed my brakes instantly, locking up the left front, and when I noticed his lights turn on, I went ahead and pulled over to the right.
He approached me with disappointment as he was just returning from telling a family their daughter died in a car accident the previous night. He mentioned that I should know better even if I had somewhere to go. He made it quick and had clocked me at 97 in a 65.
I called my attorney to get this one taken care of as usual. But we ran into a snag--the judge for the case was an extremely harsh woman. She saw my record and wanted mandatory 30 days of jail time. And my attorney said there was not much he could do. Even with all the charities I have indirectly supported, raising $40k for various causes during the year, he could care less and said the judge could be furious to hear that I help car groups with charity work. He instructed me to go to a particular pet shelter and have 21 hours of community service by Monday to have a chance of not getting jail time. This was on a Friday.
I went to the place and it was run by a husband and wife team. The wife mentioned that if I help her husband this weekend, she's write me a letter confirming I did 21hrs. I agreed. Her husband was 55 years old and as strong as an ox. We started by cleaning up cages and spreading around 20lbs of straw in each cage. He had the straw delivered on pallets. We worked on the cages all day, and since I always put my best in whatever work that I do, after about 12hrs, he told me I was done. They were a very nice couple who truly care about animals, and I wished them the best. I had my letter in hand.
Monday at court, there was a lineup change in the judge, and it was one that my attorney was familiar with. He actually winked at my attorney when he knew he's be working with him today. At that point, I knew I was saved. My attorney quickly presented the information and the judge awarded me driving school as usual. Case closed. But my attorney warned me that one more ticket and that it would be jail time and there won't be anything he can do. I told him I'd never get a ticket again. He bet me he'd see me again. I bet him he wouldn't. He hasn't seen me since.
Even though I was in better physical shape then than I am now, I laid down to rest after this whole ordeal. I was so sore that I wasn't able to get out of bed until Wednesday, and barely got any work done the entire week. So I just lost the entire week which I normally would have gained by speeding.
At this point, I decided that saving the 1000 hours a year via speeding isn't worth it, especially with jail time looming over my head. I had to learn to start watching my rear view mirrors to keep from being rear-ended since I was driving 1 mph under the limit. I quickly learned that the main roads and highways were no longer safe for me and started driving on side roads exclusively. All of my commute times
doubled. Places I could get to in 25m turned into 45m, but I always remember why I do this. My Valentine Ones have since been retired, sitting and awaiting the day of their return to use. I've thought about using them just to monitor the signals, but there's no point. Once in a while I have to make a mad dash that is life or death, and I conciously know that if I get a ticket, it will be jail time. It makes the choice a lot more concrete if something is really worth it or not.
The end.
