Twilight passed.
The luminous sojourner
again glides his way across
a pin-pointed canopy.
His pale efforts to expose
cannot reveal that which
is apparent to me here;
The muted songs of night,
the Still for lack of light.
The solitude,
my day's repast,
in which I take delight.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
My Day in Court
I rehearsed my defense for a couple months.
Last week I was in court. I was the defendant.
Without getting to over-zealous, I had a run in with the evil empire that is the local parking enforcement. Here is a rule to keep in mind: By choosing to park anywhere in a college town, you have automatically revoked your rights. College towns have helicopters hovering overhead with meter maids that zip line in within seconds of the moment that parking restrictions become effective.
Shoot - I wasn't going to get too over-zealous.
Here's the short explanation. I was rendezvous-ing with my wife to swap cars. Parking restrictions began on this street at 5. I waited with my car from 5:00 to 5:07, when she arrived. She was pregnant, had to pee so we went into the home of our friend, in front of which we had parked. We said hi. She peed. We said thanks and goodbye, returning to our cars at 5:12 - each of which had a ticket. (I could still faintly hear the helicopter flying off that had just zipped in the parking Nazi.) We got one at 5:10 and one at 5:11.
Man. I was mad.
Karen (our friend) had 2 parking passes for guests, but we thought in the time we'd be there we wouldn't need them. Indeed - it may have taken her 4 minutes just to find them!
So - two tickets totalling $30. No way was I paying.
Here's the short story on how it works. You refuse to pay. They send a court summons. You plead not guilty. You pay the fines + some hefty court costs. ($115 was what I sent in!) You come on your appointed date. You plead your case for not being guilty. Then comes the verdict.
I'll tell you how it played out in a minute, but for now here is what was really really interesting to me:
I was scared to death.
Weird huh? I really believe that I was in the right. My thoughts - rehearsed in my head for days and days prior: the purpose of the law is to protect residents from having random non-resident people (OK - students) from leaving their cars parked on resident's streets all the time, causing inconvenience and loss of room to park. I was a guest of the resident, I was there for 5 minutes with the resident, and there is certainly, or should be, enough flexibility in the law for pregnant women to pee at a friend's house. I truly believe that I didn't deserve those tickets.
Yet - I was in the court room and my heart was pounding. I was not coming in with a lie. I wasn't really angry with the meter maid (from her perspective, I couldn't expect her to do any differently) and I felt that justice would support me.
So why was I so intimidated and nervous?
I think the answer has to do with authority. In the court room, I have rights (and happily in the American system whether you think it's broken or not) I didn't really have anything to fear for my personal well-being. But in terms of my case - of the judgment, decisions, penalties and effects, the judge had complete authority. What he decided would be what happened. I could present my perspective, but he had authority, true authority to make his determination reality.
To enforce this sense of authority, the judge sat really high. I was surprised and hadn't thought about this. The room was small, maybe about twice the size of my living room. But when I stood up and seated judge looked at me I was still a good couple of feet below his eye level. I'm over 6'. He was near the ceiling.
I was in no personal danger, I felt I was in the right, but I was still pretty intimidated. This over a couple parking tickets.
I believe that one day we all will have to stand before a Judge. He will not be evaluating one particular instance of infraction, but the whole of our lives. His authority will be total. His ruling will be completely accurate - nothing will be hidden or manipulated. His ability to carry out a sentence will be sure. Everything we've ever done will be laid bare, seen for what it is.
The thing with a court case is that you're either proclaimed guilty or not. The issue isn't whether you have done more good than bad, the question is "did you break the rule or not?" We have all broken rules. This should cause a reaction in us - something must be done.
This is what the Bible is all about. God doesn't want us to bear the sentencing, so he gives us an opportunity to settle - out of court. Do you know what it is? Ask me. I'd love to tell you.
For my situation, I broke even. (Which is really a win in a parking ticket case in a college town!) The Judge decided that I'd pay one ticket, and he would dismiss my wife's ticket and the court fees. I could have (should have) waited by the cars while she was in our friend's house. Seemed like the best I could get, so I was pretty happy. Glad to pay the $15. I didn't bear the full weight of the penalty - just a little.
That's a good deal - in the case of parking tickets. . . and life.
Last week I was in court. I was the defendant.
Without getting to over-zealous, I had a run in with the evil empire that is the local parking enforcement. Here is a rule to keep in mind: By choosing to park anywhere in a college town, you have automatically revoked your rights. College towns have helicopters hovering overhead with meter maids that zip line in within seconds of the moment that parking restrictions become effective.
Shoot - I wasn't going to get too over-zealous.
Here's the short explanation. I was rendezvous-ing with my wife to swap cars. Parking restrictions began on this street at 5. I waited with my car from 5:00 to 5:07, when she arrived. She was pregnant, had to pee so we went into the home of our friend, in front of which we had parked. We said hi. She peed. We said thanks and goodbye, returning to our cars at 5:12 - each of which had a ticket. (I could still faintly hear the helicopter flying off that had just zipped in the parking Nazi.) We got one at 5:10 and one at 5:11.
Man. I was mad.
Karen (our friend) had 2 parking passes for guests, but we thought in the time we'd be there we wouldn't need them. Indeed - it may have taken her 4 minutes just to find them!
So - two tickets totalling $30. No way was I paying.
Here's the short story on how it works. You refuse to pay. They send a court summons. You plead not guilty. You pay the fines + some hefty court costs. ($115 was what I sent in!) You come on your appointed date. You plead your case for not being guilty. Then comes the verdict.
I'll tell you how it played out in a minute, but for now here is what was really really interesting to me:
I was scared to death.
Weird huh? I really believe that I was in the right. My thoughts - rehearsed in my head for days and days prior: the purpose of the law is to protect residents from having random non-resident people (OK - students) from leaving their cars parked on resident's streets all the time, causing inconvenience and loss of room to park. I was a guest of the resident, I was there for 5 minutes with the resident, and there is certainly, or should be, enough flexibility in the law for pregnant women to pee at a friend's house. I truly believe that I didn't deserve those tickets.
Yet - I was in the court room and my heart was pounding. I was not coming in with a lie. I wasn't really angry with the meter maid (from her perspective, I couldn't expect her to do any differently) and I felt that justice would support me.
So why was I so intimidated and nervous?
I think the answer has to do with authority. In the court room, I have rights (and happily in the American system whether you think it's broken or not) I didn't really have anything to fear for my personal well-being. But in terms of my case - of the judgment, decisions, penalties and effects, the judge had complete authority. What he decided would be what happened. I could present my perspective, but he had authority, true authority to make his determination reality.
To enforce this sense of authority, the judge sat really high. I was surprised and hadn't thought about this. The room was small, maybe about twice the size of my living room. But when I stood up and seated judge looked at me I was still a good couple of feet below his eye level. I'm over 6'. He was near the ceiling.
I was in no personal danger, I felt I was in the right, but I was still pretty intimidated. This over a couple parking tickets.
I believe that one day we all will have to stand before a Judge. He will not be evaluating one particular instance of infraction, but the whole of our lives. His authority will be total. His ruling will be completely accurate - nothing will be hidden or manipulated. His ability to carry out a sentence will be sure. Everything we've ever done will be laid bare, seen for what it is.
The thing with a court case is that you're either proclaimed guilty or not. The issue isn't whether you have done more good than bad, the question is "did you break the rule or not?" We have all broken rules. This should cause a reaction in us - something must be done.
This is what the Bible is all about. God doesn't want us to bear the sentencing, so he gives us an opportunity to settle - out of court. Do you know what it is? Ask me. I'd love to tell you.
For my situation, I broke even. (Which is really a win in a parking ticket case in a college town!) The Judge decided that I'd pay one ticket, and he would dismiss my wife's ticket and the court fees. I could have (should have) waited by the cars while she was in our friend's house. Seemed like the best I could get, so I was pretty happy. Glad to pay the $15. I didn't bear the full weight of the penalty - just a little.
That's a good deal - in the case of parking tickets. . . and life.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
They're the Problem
I blame everyone but me.
But I think I might be "normal."
If by normal I mean "typical." I tend to shift blame to others - or, more popular for me, my circumstances. (Turns out I sound more like Curly from the 3 stooges than I'd like: I'm a victim o' Coicumstances - nyuk nyuk nyuk.) I don't want to be a jerk or have character deficiencies. Nope. So, my gut response is blame shifting. Make someone or something else the jerk. You probably do it too.
I think this is why the public speakers and preachers I get the most out of are the ones that make me own my problems. I think that's why when I have occasion to speak, I'd like to be able to limit gracious talk and dole out some truth. (I wish I spoke better!) I think this is why Dr Phil is so popular.
Recently I had an almost-conversation where I wish I would have had the courage to shine a little light back at some people. (I also avoid conflict, which is why it's safer for me to blame circumstances rather than people)
At the start of this summer, I was in a shuttle bus heading toward a parking lot near the Philly Airport. We had been delayed, circling Harrisburg for a while before we came in to land. The shuttle driver pointed out the reason; "Parked right there is Air Force One. President is up at the nuke plant for a speech."
Regardless of your politics, we can all agree on one thing: It's the president's fault. It doesn't matter what or why - he's to blame. That's a convenient one, isn't it? He's leading and he's got all this control and I'm just a little somebody who has to deal with all the crap that comes around. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
That's the tack that the one guy in the shuttle went with. At the mention of Air Force One he talked about how rising gas prices were such a pain, and how the stupid president should do something about it. (Like what? Supply and Demand. We have nearly uncontrolled demand, the OPEC Nations largely regulate the supply. If we think it through, I don't think we want any president - regardless of politics - to start 'governmentalizing' major sectors of private industry. Imagine if every gas station operated like the DMV. Ugh.)
Anyhow - here are a couple questions I should have been bold enough to ask.
What kind of car do you drive?
Do you commute to work?
Ever use public transportation?
With how many people do you car pool?
What do you do to conserve energy/gas?
I didn't. I'm a weenie. But it was rather remarkable, as my friend and I drove home (rushing to beat the immenent highway shutdown for the returning President - who I blame for all the bad traffic on the way home) we decided to count how many cars in a row had just one person in them. On average, it was 9 out of 10 cars. Only 10% of cars had 2+ people, and of those, the vast majority were obviously families.
Shuttle Dude was wrong. I have the real power to do something - if a lot of I's can do something together. Consider: What would happen if everyone driving to work could just take a buddy. You know, I drive Luke in my car today, tomorrow he drives. No huge changes, like everyone goes public transport. Just simple 2 people car-pooling. Without doing any math or research, here are some potentials.
1 Commuting cars would use half the fuel they do now (That's a LOT!)
2 There would be nearly half as many cars during rush hour. (Glorious)
3 Less cars = Less congestion = faster commute with less stop & go = better fuel economy.
4 Reduced Fuel Consumption = Lower demand = lower prices.
5 More en route conversations with real people = less imbicilic morning radio hosts. (well, I can dream, can't I?)
Shoot - I could do way more than the president, if I actually did this. Problem: getting us all to do it. After all - the problem isn't me, it's those other guys. I need to have a Suburban Excursion to take my Armada on an Expedition to see the Sequioa. (I'll just take my Jetta, thank you)
Wouldn't it be great if we all took some ownership for stuff? If it's my fault, I can do something about it. If I blame you, I've just passed the buck. Nothing changed for the better, especially my ego. This would be great in lots of stuff - not just gas prices. Think of marriages, frivilous lawsuits, politics (gasp!) etc.
A little more personal integrity, honesty and ownership would be great for all of us.
And then we wouldn't have to watch Dr. Phil!
It's all his fault.
But I think I might be "normal."
If by normal I mean "typical." I tend to shift blame to others - or, more popular for me, my circumstances. (Turns out I sound more like Curly from the 3 stooges than I'd like: I'm a victim o' Coicumstances - nyuk nyuk nyuk.) I don't want to be a jerk or have character deficiencies. Nope. So, my gut response is blame shifting. Make someone or something else the jerk. You probably do it too.
I think this is why the public speakers and preachers I get the most out of are the ones that make me own my problems. I think that's why when I have occasion to speak, I'd like to be able to limit gracious talk and dole out some truth. (I wish I spoke better!) I think this is why Dr Phil is so popular.
Recently I had an almost-conversation where I wish I would have had the courage to shine a little light back at some people. (I also avoid conflict, which is why it's safer for me to blame circumstances rather than people)
At the start of this summer, I was in a shuttle bus heading toward a parking lot near the Philly Airport. We had been delayed, circling Harrisburg for a while before we came in to land. The shuttle driver pointed out the reason; "Parked right there is Air Force One. President is up at the nuke plant for a speech."
Regardless of your politics, we can all agree on one thing: It's the president's fault. It doesn't matter what or why - he's to blame. That's a convenient one, isn't it? He's leading and he's got all this control and I'm just a little somebody who has to deal with all the crap that comes around. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
That's the tack that the one guy in the shuttle went with. At the mention of Air Force One he talked about how rising gas prices were such a pain, and how the stupid president should do something about it. (Like what? Supply and Demand. We have nearly uncontrolled demand, the OPEC Nations largely regulate the supply. If we think it through, I don't think we want any president - regardless of politics - to start 'governmentalizing' major sectors of private industry. Imagine if every gas station operated like the DMV. Ugh.)
Anyhow - here are a couple questions I should have been bold enough to ask.
What kind of car do you drive?
Do you commute to work?
Ever use public transportation?
With how many people do you car pool?
What do you do to conserve energy/gas?
I didn't. I'm a weenie. But it was rather remarkable, as my friend and I drove home (rushing to beat the immenent highway shutdown for the returning President - who I blame for all the bad traffic on the way home) we decided to count how many cars in a row had just one person in them. On average, it was 9 out of 10 cars. Only 10% of cars had 2+ people, and of those, the vast majority were obviously families.
Shuttle Dude was wrong. I have the real power to do something - if a lot of I's can do something together. Consider: What would happen if everyone driving to work could just take a buddy. You know, I drive Luke in my car today, tomorrow he drives. No huge changes, like everyone goes public transport. Just simple 2 people car-pooling. Without doing any math or research, here are some potentials.
1 Commuting cars would use half the fuel they do now (That's a LOT!)
2 There would be nearly half as many cars during rush hour. (Glorious)
3 Less cars = Less congestion = faster commute with less stop & go = better fuel economy.
4 Reduced Fuel Consumption = Lower demand = lower prices.
5 More en route conversations with real people = less imbicilic morning radio hosts. (well, I can dream, can't I?)
Shoot - I could do way more than the president, if I actually did this. Problem: getting us all to do it. After all - the problem isn't me, it's those other guys. I need to have a Suburban Excursion to take my Armada on an Expedition to see the Sequioa. (I'll just take my Jetta, thank you)
Wouldn't it be great if we all took some ownership for stuff? If it's my fault, I can do something about it. If I blame you, I've just passed the buck. Nothing changed for the better, especially my ego. This would be great in lots of stuff - not just gas prices. Think of marriages, frivilous lawsuits, politics (gasp!) etc.
A little more personal integrity, honesty and ownership would be great for all of us.
And then we wouldn't have to watch Dr. Phil!
It's all his fault.
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