Tony Soprano Needs the Cash

The front page of yesterday's paper showed the results of an accident. A woman had backed out of a driveway and had hit an old man driving a motorized scooter on the sidewalk. Not enough to cause injury and the woman was given a ticket. Now I'm not sure if I would fault the woman entirely. I think it is the responsibility of the scooter driver not to take for granted that he has the right of way. It reminds me of people who jaywalk. They step in front of you and look the other way pretending that they don't see you. They assume you will stop. You just better hope that the car driver is not looking the other way. Now back to the scooter. There used to be a man living across the street and he had one of those things. Those things are low. I don't know if its the law or not but he should have one of those flags. If it is the law, meanie me would have given him a ticket, because he still thinks he's right and will not be careful next time. If you are laying on a slab, it won't matter if you were right.

Speaking of tickets, my son told me about something that happened in New York. A son was going home to see his mother and he noticed that she had thrown out a fridge. He asked her if he could have it and no problem. Just as he was loading it on his vehicle, a meter maid drove by. She him a $2000. ticket because in N.Y. you are not allowed to pick up someone else's garbage. She also gave the mother a $2000. ticket for giving permission. So I guess the meter maid gets a slap on the back for being a super crime fighter, the land fill gets another fridge because there must have been an empty spot and a town councillor and Tony Soprano get some extra cash.

We handle that a little differently up here. On garbage day, anyone can drive around and take anything they want. They take all the metal of course to sell to the metal dealers. Twice a year, spring and fall, you are allowed to put your unwanted items out on the lawn for the weekend. Everyone can help themselves. I picked up my lawn mower on garbage day. A guy I know was throwing his out because it wouldn't start. Had a broken pin. Means he hit a rock and broke it. I repaired it for $25.00 and now have a two year old lawn mower that new cost $200.00.