Dodged One Bullet -- Hope To Dodge The Other

Well of fucking course my dental appointment would be on the same day as the day the city of Minneapolis began to sweep the street.  But the street I was on seemed to be clean.  Isn't the rule that once a street is swept, you can park on it?

Based on that rule, I parked on a street that was clearly marked no parking for yesterday/Friday, even though it was cleaned.  I walked 20+ minutes to the other side of campus to get my teeth done.  Walking back, I thought about checking out a computer lab that I went to a lot when I was out of college and decided I didn't want to waste my life working and making money.  But I thought better of it because, well, my car might be towed.

As I got closer to my car, I walked past a street where a truck was being towed.  And then I saw a tow truck driving down the street with a car on its bed.  Thank Buddha it wasn't mine, but after I saw another tow truck with an unwilling companion vehicle, I started to haul ass, hoping beyond hope that I wouldn't come across my car being towed away.

I ran to the street I parked, and thank GOD my car was still there.  But there was a cop there.  I never felt so thankful just for getting a ticket.  But I wasn't going to wait around in case a tow truck swooped in; I started my car and got the hell out of there with the quickness!  I'm still fucking paranoid that the city of Minneapolis is going to tow my car.  Went to the library and a new dive bar in the area, and I was still scared shitless I was going to come back to my car just to not see it there.

Well, that didn't happen.  So glad I didn't go exploring on campus.  But there is still the issue of the ticket.  I just went online to see if I still needed to pay something, however there is no record of it -- yet.  Technically, I still did break the law by parking illegally.  But, I thought there would be an amount written on the ticket, and there isn't.  I see the city code I broke, and I see the words "TOW REQUEST," but there is no amount to pay.  Also, I remember when I got my car towed that I had to pay everything -- the tow, the ticket, and fucking lord knows what else the city piled on -- at the impound lot.  If I got my car after my ticket was issued but before the tow truck came, does that mean I get off scot free?  Finally, I also remember my friend, who was watching our alma mater's Game with us in downtown Minneapolis while my car got towed, was able to see that her car was about to get towed and stopped the truck, but not before paying a "drop fee."  If that's all she needed to pay (even though that shit sounds shady), and if I got away before the truck came -- well, I don't need to pay anything, do I?

The ticket on the back says I might need to wait a week before calling.  I presume that if I check online, the amount I would have to pay (if I need to pay it) would be up immediately.  I'll give it a week before checking again, probably through the Internet, although I might call just in case.  Hey, I still have my car, so I will thank my lucky stars for that.  But I sure as shit don't want to pay anything just to get my goddamn teeth cleaned.  If I beat the rap by getting to my car on time ... well, I think I saw the cop look at me while I got to my car, and I know he was thinking something along the lines of, "That lucky motherfucker."  Well, depending on what else I need to pay, I might be a lucky motherfucker, indeed.