Saturday, January 12, 2008

Good things do not always come in threes

Grocery shopping is a big downer in our house. Neither Nate or I like to go so we are often heard saying, "I went last so it's your turn this time." Then we go back and forth about how many times we've gone and when. That's what happened on a day last winter. On that day we decided, "fine. We'll both go." So everyone including kids got their shoes on and we all navigated our way through the isles. When we got to the checkout line a man had just paid for his items and was heading out of the store. As we were placing our items on the belt and telling the kids to put the candy back the same man who had just left came back. He handed me some money saying that when he saw us it reminded him of when his kids were younger and how grocery money was so important. So he gave us the change from his purchase which totalled around $37. It felt really strange holding his money in my hands. A little embarrassed and shocked but very thankful. We said thank you and he quickly left. All the workers were watching this happen like a cow with three heads had walked by. So I felt a little like a thief giving the check out lady the money. She on the other hand was tickled pink by what the man did and wouldn't stop smiling. By the time the strangeness wore off we were standing outside by the soda machines. Feeling brightened by our recent run in with fortune we spent a whole .50 on a cherry Coke. When I pushed the button not one but two cokes came out. Wow that was cool, a free soda. Our day was looking better by the minute.
After we got everyone and everything in the van Nate said he needed to go to the ATM so off we went to the bank. While we were sitting at the light to turn left into our bank parking lot I noticed that the green arrow didn't come on. I thought that was odd and made the left turn once there was a clearing from the opposite direction. Right when I pulled into the parking lot I see a policeman waving me over to the curb where I pulled over and got my first ticket ever.
This just goes to show you that good things don't always come in threes.
This was the policeman I recognized in my story "Mr. Policeman" I did not know about this new traffic pattern. There had been a lot of accidents at this intersection during rush hour so they put up signs (that I didn't see) telling people they couldn't turn left during the hours of 3-6pm. I went to court for this and still had to pay the fine but received no points. I was only one of many that had to pay a fine for the same turn. Our county made a lot of money that day. Also, they have put up a new sign that is larger and lights up during those hours.

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