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Ray's Nemesis |
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| Some of us have a nemesis haunting us throughout our lives--a 'Darth Vader' or 'Lex | ||
| Luthor' so to speak. Ray's nemesis is a stretch of 52nd Street known simply as | ||
| "The Six-Hundred Block". | ||
| It began one early morning about a year ago. An ominous flash lit up the pre-dawn | ||
| sky as a warning of pending doom. A multi-nova camera captured Ray driving a little | ||
| faster than he should in that rush to get his first McDonald's coffee. Our fears were | ||
| confirmed a few days later. A pale yellow speeding ticket, with photos, was delivered | ||
| to our mailbox. The cost of that ticket could have bought a lot of coffee. | ||
| Shortly after that incident we moved closer to McDonald's and "The Six-Hundred | ||
| Block" became a distant memory. That was until a few months ago, when once again | ||
| that ugly pot-holed stretch of asphalt ambushed us. "The Six-Hundred Block" was not | ||
| finished with us yet. | ||
| For a week Ray and I had driven a client around in that general area to look at houses. | ||
| That fateful day we had found her dream home and had just delivered a copy of the sales | ||
| contract to her. On the way home, excited about finding the perfect home for our client, | ||
| we were oblivious to the evil lurking around the corner. Ray forgot about the sign halfway | ||
| down the hill that changes the speed limit from 60km to 50km. He was reminded at the | ||
| bottom when one of Calgary's finest jumped out from behind the bushes frantically waving | ||
| his arms. Even then Ray didn't think the policeman was waving at us. Surely he wanted | ||
| the guy that was speeding passed us. But, no, he wanted us and impatiently he waved us | ||
| into the parking lot. Handing over his license and registration, Ray asked the officer | ||
| about the other driver. The reply was simple--"I wasn't clocking him." | ||
| Along with the other drivers that were lucky enough to get clocked, we waited for the | ||
| officer to write out our ticket. I mentioned to Ray how ironic it was that just two days ago | ||
| I had warned him to slow down in that very same spot. Boy, did those words come back | ||
| to haunt me! | ||
| Suddenly a fellow walked up to the car and handed Ray a note with a name and telephone | ||
| number. | ||
| "For twenty bucks they'll fight it for you," he whispered and then told Ray to hide the | ||
| note. As the cop got out of his vehicle, the strange little man scurried away to the next | ||
| car with another note in hand. | ||
| The look on the officer's face was priceless when Ray, with a smile, handed him a | ||
| business card in return for the speeding ticket and said, "Call us when you are looking | ||
| for a house." He probably wondered why this realtor would want to deal with someone | ||
| who had just given him a speeding ticket. Well, we have to pay for it somehow, right. | ||
| We joked that the ticket was just another cost of doing business. It wasn't too bad, | ||
| considering we had traveled that stretch of road at least 5 or 6 times in the previous | ||
| week. | ||
| It was about a week later, at the post office, that we found an envelope marked 'Calgary | ||
| Police Services' with our mail. It contained a distinct yellow slip. | ||
| "Maybe it's a confirmation of the ticket," I said, looking a little closer. Then we | ||
| noticed the enclosed photos. Something didn't quite register, until I looked at the | ||
| date. It was dated two days before our last speeding ticket. "The Six-Hundred Block" | ||
| had struck again. | ||
| I think Ray will treat that stretch of road with a lot of respect from now on. Either that | ||
| or he'll drive in the passing lane that doesn't get clocked. | ||
| Marion de Man | ||
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| ***** | ||
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