So here I was, minding my own business, reading a book (Children of Hope by David Feintuch) when I suddenly hear a bunch of sirens zooming down my quiet, suburban street. Okay, so it’s not the best neighborhood, but still, usually it’s just a squad car with lights on if ANYTHING happens (and even then, it’s just some way ward youth being brought home courtesy of the police department.)
So here I am, reading my book when the sirens blare down. Now of course, I’m sitting in my window watching the scene as an ambulance, two fire trucks (why is it always two and not one??? You ever notice that?) and about half a dozen squad cars (some marked, a couple unmarked but with lights) across the street.
Well, parking’s rather horrible in my neighborhood, too many teenagers with too many cars, so there’s almost never a good spot to park, you know? And to top it off, half the street (my side of the road) is no parking at all times!
So I’m standing there, leaning out my window in a nightshirt (because it’s bloody hot and I don’t want to run the AC when the sun goes down, you know?) And this idiot NBC Channel 5 News van parks right at the end of my drive way! The nerve! Not along the curb in front of my lawn, literally parks at the end of my drive blocking me in!
So I yell to the girl who gets out (obviously the reporter since she wasn’t in jeans and a t-shirt and looked like she could understand at least rudimentary English, though after the conversation, I began to have my doubts, believe you me!) “Hey, you can’t park there!”
Her reply??? “We’re media.” As if that settled that, and she went back to primping and primming for the camera.
“Yeah, but you’re blocking my drive way. You can’t park there!” I called down again. Kinda intrigued as to what made her think she was above the law and more important than anyone else in the world?
She looked up at me, took a glance at the drink I had in my hand, and repeated (slowly, guess she thought I might be drunk or slow) “It’s okay, We’re the media.” Such attitude!
“Yea, well I don’t care if you’re the second coming, you bloody well cannot park in front of my garage. I will have you towed!”
“We’re a new organization, ma’am. We’re the press. We can park where we want.” This from the prissy looking child who appeared to have just graduated at the bottom of his class from some 3rd rate party school, in a tweed jacket and jeans, yelling around his cell phone (why he didn’t just graft the d@mn thing to his ear I’ll never know.)
“Ahem. Let me be perfectly clear.” I reiterated in my best attempt at a matronly/drill sergeant-ish voice. “If you do not move that van I will have you towed. You cannot block my garage. I need to be able to pull my car out of my driveway.”
Obviously this was more than the lady reporter could handle. “But you don’t understand, ma’am! This is a breaking story!”
I guess that was true. Too bad for them while they were off reporting the breaking story, H&H Towing was busy taking their van.
edit Fixed a typo (comming to coming) which was bothering me.