When Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

Okay, I'm rushing off to class, and I agreed to never blog about anyone in bad form, but something happened last night that was so jaw dropping, and unbelievable that I feel like I have to say something, even if it's only to the six people that might read this from time to time, and if I only have a minute or two before hopping a bus.

Last night A. and I went to a Second City show. Students get in free on slower nights, so we were excited to take in a free show, which was super funny, but this blog is not about the show. It is about what happened before the show started, when we were sitting in the bar across the street from Second City.

There was a huge stack of yesterday's Red Eyes next to the table, and I picked one up, enticed by the cover story which was about parking violations, bogus tickets, and outraged citizens.

The story featured a very large, nearly full page photograph of an unhappy citizen, upset over a dubious $50 expired meter ticket allegedly received after he claimed there was a receipt on his dashboard from a pay-to-park display box.

There was no such receipt on his dashboard. I know because I was with him on the night of Jan. 28th- a single date- there was never a second one.

One of his church buddies that met us out for dinner in Wrigleyville that evening drove a different car, and had actually given this guy HER pay-to-park display slip after he had received his ticket, and then told him to contest it using her receipt.

In reading the newspaper story from Thursday's Red Eye, I guess he had gone ahead, and used his friend's pay to park display to contest his ticket by mail, and then was so outraged that he lost, and according to the final martyr infused paragraph he has since contacted his local alderman several times, with no word back.

WTF?

And I thought I was delusional? To allow yourself to be featured in a newspaper article upset over a ticket that you were trying to get out of, using evidence that was not yours to begin with?? Wow...

Oh, and I just found out that a friend of mine was dancing at a club last night, met a guy, and gave him her number. It turned out to be someone I dated for three months three years ago. A third weird thing happened on Friday too, but I'll keep that one to myself.

It's a good thing full moons only happen once each month.

A friend didn't understand why I was so upset over this, yet as a former reporter long ago, I'd be annoyed if I found out a source was just an attention seeker armed with a bogus claim, and, as a reader of print newspapers, it's been tough to witness the watering down of news, which makes seeing see this guy featured as a lead source in a cover story all the more disturbing, but oh well, I think I'm over it now, plus he thankfully lost his case. I'm truthfully feeling guilty for calling him out, but I'm not going to delete this one just yet, plus if you go to the press, and raise a stink, I guess you're pretty much fair game.