I fought the law (again). This time the law towed my car.

So I'm fighting the man again, over a parking ticket again. A couple years ago, I went to DC for a concert and wound up with a bs $100 parking ticket for parking in an "emergency zone". I wrote a pissy letter, backed up with photographic proof of my innocence, and actually got the thing dismissed. I still have the dismissal letter from the DC DMV posted on my fridge, I'm so damn proud of it.

Well, here I go again: Wednesday night I went to the Norva, parked on Granby a block up from Baxters (where it's all torn up with construction), went to the show, came back and had a total "Dude, where's my car?" moment. I saw the handicapped sign earlier, but it was attached to the sign that says that 2 hour parking is from 9am - 6pm, so I thought that time frame applied to the handicapped zone too. It does not. So whatever minion Satan put in charge of Norfolk parking decided to not only ticket me, but also have me immediately towed (seriously, the times on the ticket and the towing sheet are like 20 minutes apart). Cuz, you know, it's 10pm and some crippled person must have been desperately trying to get to the federal court house.
Fast forward to the impound lot near Janaf - now that place is a treat. First off, I drive a newer model Toyota convertible. The guard who escorted me to my car took me all the way through the lot and up to this, like 1970s Oldsmobile hoopdie. Apparently oblivious to the look of incredulity on my face, he asked me "is this it?" Um, no.

So we eventually found it. Bonus fun: my registration was expired, so technically I didn't have a current registration to prove I own the damn thing. Fortunately, the lady at the counter accepted my expired registration, probably because she didn't feel like dealing with this shit at midnight on a Wednesday any more than I did.

So I have my car back, but it cost me $135 to get it out of impound, PLUS I have a $250 - yes, you read that right, $250 - parking ticket that the city of Norfolk apparently thinks I'm actually going to pay. Ha! Even if I had $250, I wouldn't be sending it to the city of Norfolk. So I've written another pissy letter, with photographic evidence, detailing why not only am I not sending them $250, but I would also like them to give back the $135 I've already paid. Oh yeah, I'm going for all of it.

Because here's the kicker: the guard at the impound lot mentioned, as we were searching for my car, that people get towed from that spot all the time because no one realizes it's a handicapped zone. This is a total sham! The city knows the sign is confusing and they don't care; it's just a money making racket. When I mentioned I worked for The Pilot, he asked if we were going to do a story on it. I was going to make this just a personal vendetta, but perhaps I will suggest it as a story. Because apparently it's my purpose in life to overhaul the parking system in the DC and Norfolk area. Wish me luck.

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