Danger (of a ticket) Lurking Around Every Corner

Why is it that everyone thinks parking enforcers lurk around the corner waiting for meters to expire? I certainly do not do this. I’m not sure if the good people of Summerville have noticed, but the downtown area is 4 blocks. There is one meter maid on duty at any given time, and we walk continuously around in circles. If we walked by your car fifteen minutes ago, it is normal that we are walking by again. We are not stalking you, and we are certainly not targeting the mothers waiting for their children to get out of drama class.

The other day I issued a citation on Ore Street to a white Range Rover. Our town is so small that we do not have any of those fancy little computers to print out tickets. We have to do it the good old fashioned way, handwritten with a pen. I completed filling out the citation at 9:59am, and placed it under the wiper on the vehicle. Just in case anyone is wondering, I do this with the utmost care, ensuring that I do not damage the wiper.

I was half way down the block when I heard a recognizable phrase in a familiar tone. “Excuse me”! Oh God, here we go. “Excuse me”! Higher pitched now- shreeking actually. I turned and walked back toward the vehicle. As I approached I noticed a woman looked irritated, angry even. Super. Her daughter who looked to be about three twirled around her legs, reciting something she learned in drama class. Cute kid. Angry mom- right, back to the issue at hand.

I asked the woman what the problem was in a patient tone, flashing a reassuring smile. She didn’t skip a beat and puked out her grievance. “I parked at 9am and put an hour worth of change in the meter. There is no way that the meter expired. You must have been standing here waiting for it to run out of time”.  I smiled again and explained to her that it would be unethical for me to stand there and watch the meter expire then issue a citation. I walk around and when I come to a meter that says “expired”, I write a ticket. Still smiling while I explained all of this.

Apparently she did not like my answers because she raised her voice even more. Her poor child detected the shrillness in her voice and hid behind the meter. I directed her to City Hall where she could spew her anger at the finance department. Although I do have a good success rate with my merry meter maid approach, it is obvious that some people just want to be mad.

Did I mention that our parking citations are $4?

The Merry Meter Maid

A few weeks ago I traveled to a big city (by my standards) to attend a party thrown by my sister. At said party I was asked numerous times what I do for a living. Knowing that I was in a city with lots of cars and parking nightmares, I would draw in a deep breath and answer “I am a parking enforcement officer”. I half expected to get wine thrown in my face upon revealing this information. The most common response was “You’re kidding”! Nope, not kidding. I am a meter maid ( a historical term that I actually like despite its sexist nature), an enforcer of parking and as one party-goer put it; a meter bitch.

Now I do understand where the person who attached that name to my profession is coming from. In thousands of cities across the world people loathe meter maids. They are unfair witches lurking around every corner waiting to pounce on any vehicle the second a driver walks away without paying their dues. Living in a small town I have not had experience with this type of parking enforcement officer, but according to nearly everyone who drives in the city, that is what they are like.

You may now be asking yourself why you are continuing to read the blog of such a horrid creature, hellbent on ruining everyone’s day. The answer is simple; I am a merry meter maid. I  do my job well and serve up tickets with a smile. Do all people appreciate this? No. Do I care? Not really. The stories from my side of the parking ticket are worth sharing, and that’s just what I intend to do.