Today Rude Cactus got added to my feedreader. I’ve been doing stuff like that a lot more recently – adding all sorts of interesting people to my lists – simply because it’s so incredibly easy to do so now that I’ve got NewsGator working on all fronts: PC, web, phone. I used to do it manually, but now I just right-click here, toolbar-click there, whatever… I can feed the need to read with speed.
About the only thing I know about this Cactus character is that he has a really cool logo on his blog:
Oh, and the thingy-thing says he’s an IT Security geek, which is a big plus, as is the network administrator work, but the flaming uber-liberal thing’s got to go. The name “cactus” reminds me of the awesome local Capitol Area Central Texas Unix Society, of which I was a member in the late 80′s and early 90′s, getting my first real unix account, email, and usenet access. So while he probably has nothing to do with that CACTUS, I believe that coincidences shape our lives, so I’ll run with it. Besides, he’s got like a kagillion commenters so he must have something to offer.
The first (and only, so far) post I’ve read was “That’s the Ticket,” an amusing story about when Mr. Cactus didn’t get a ticket and when he did, and the ironic nature of the two events.
All of a sudden, my memory kicked into action and I remembered a ticket-getting event in my own life, and put it in the comments of that post. Because I thought it was interesting (and it makes for an easy Saturday post), here it is for your pleasure*:
In ’89 I went to defensive driving for a speeding ticket. At the beginning of the class, the instructor asked facetiously “and is there anyone who is completely innocent of their speeding ticket?” hahahah. I raised my hand and explained the following.I had just finished Basic Training at Ft. Sill, OK. Two recruit friends and I down to Austin (hometown) for Thanksgiving dinner/weekend with family. Driving back, I was in back of the van relaxing cuz I had already driven a long time and one of the other privates was driving and all of a sudden yelled out “CRAP! I think I got NAILED!” Somehow he was able to convey the following information in about 1.5 seconds:“Wayne, it’s like this. I still have to go back and report in. You’re already Permanent Party, and you have status, but we still have more training to complete. We have formation at 1800 hours. If we so much have a SPECK on our record, it’s immediate discharge. We can’t have any trouble with the law in any way – not even a speeding ticket. All I have in this world is my enlistment and my marriage, and I really need the G.I. Bill because my wife will be bearing my child in 3 months and I can’t face her if I got kicked out of the military. Help me obi-wayne; you’re my only hope.”
So I did the only thing I could do. Luckily, we had just went over a small hill as we were slowing down; the police car behind us was invisible for a few seconds, and he jumped out of the driver’s seat and I jumped in to take his place. I slowed, stopped, and took it like a man.
I took his ticket.
Crap, I think I got nailed.
* I don’t mind you laughing at me.
