Where's My Obama Beer? The Police & New Almaden

Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. wasn't the only one who was surprised by a cop coming to his home. This morning, I was sitting on my front porch blogging at 6:20AM, and a police car pulled up. At first I thought the officer was just sitting on the side of the road, near my home, waiting for speeding cars. (It's a 25 zone). Within a few minutes, the police officer gets out of her car, walks over to my car (right on the edge of the road, parked legally) and starts writing a ticket.)

Now, I see motor cycles drive past the house at about 90 - 150mph, just about every day, just for kicks... and where are the cops when that happens? Someone could get killed crossing the street.

Anyway, the officer didn't see me on the porch, but I walked over and said, " what's wrong with my car?"

Then I learned that you can't park facing the direction of oncoming traffic, even though you're off the road, in front of your own house. Why? Because you have to cross the double yellow line to do it. "But wait," I said, "If I parked in the parking space occupied by our neighbor, next to the house, I still would have had to cross the double yellow line."

She glared at me. I said, "I can move it." She didn't seem moved.

I said, "I just moved here, and I had no idea you weren't aloud to park facing the wrong direction off the street, in front of your own house."

She seemed to realize I had caught her on a slow crime day. "Oh," she said, "I guess that would be fine. I'll void the ticket."

That afternoon, I had my own little beer. No Obama. No Officer. Just me, my dog, and my sig other. I couldn't help but think, there's a lot going on in the world. When the law is so tedious, or interpreted in ways that seem ridiculous maybe it's time to rethink things.