We thought it would be
nice to go for a family outing one Saturday evening for Ben to go fishing, the
kid to take pictures and for me to take a walk.
Actually, the idea was more like I wanted to go for a walk and Ben
wanted to go fishing and the kid didn't want to go anywhere. We left later than I would have liked due to
what I will refer to as a kid strike.
These usually involve an extensive amount of time spent in the bathroom
"getting ready," followed by an attempted negotiation by the kid to
stay home which is shut down by the usual, "This is not a negotiation
speech," which leads to the need to go pick out socks then, painstakingly,
the kid manages to get into the vehicle with a look of petulance that a
photographer can only dream about capturing at a photo shoot.
Less than an hour to go
before sunset, we manage to get to our destination. We don't have much time so I tell Ben to go
park by the water. It is not as warm as
it was supposed to be so I know it's going to be a quick, cold walk. The kid stays in the car to draw and we don't
even bother to discuss it. We got where
we wanted to be in spite of the kid strike.
I get going for a walk and
make it to the other side of the pond, take a few pictures and notice that
someone has parked their car directly behind ours. Weird, why would someone park there? I look over to see Ben put down his fishing
pole and say something to someone but I can't tell if the kid got out of the
car or if it is someone else. I try to
listen for voices. Is he getting
robbed? Is the kid in the car still? What is going on over there?
Oh well, no screams, so I
keep walking around a bit more, taking a few more pictures but the car is still
there. I start to walk back over but
wonder if I need to call 911 or take pictures of the car or something so I
hesitate about halfway back. I send a
text to Ben, "Okay over there?"
"Yep." "Ready to
go?" No response. "I don't see you fishing." No response.
I wonder if he's really okay or the person robbing him made him type
that so I call and try to look like it's not me calling from 200 feet away,
just in case I really should be calling 911.
A robber would totally fall for that - some eyewitness missing the
entire crime because she's calling someone while looking at the tree in the
water. Seems legit. Ben answers hurriedly, "Where's your
insurance card!?" I try to tell him
it is in the glove box and he says, "He's back, gotta go."
I decide it is safe to
approach and get to the car after the other car has left. Apparently, a police SUV car. It turns out, I told Ben to park in a permit
only parking lot. He also didn't have
his fishing license nor could he find proof of insurance in my car (which I
showed him in less than 5 seconds when I got to the car). Each instance was a $100 fine, though we
could go to court to fight the insurance one.
Fortunately, Ben didn't get anything but a warning. Our car ride home was mostly quiet with a few
noises from the back seat about how we shouldn't have gone out and, especially,
not brought the kid along.
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