Saturday, January 23, 2010

We Didn't Even Name Him Speedy, But He Was

I shouldn't be amused, but I am. Account today of five guys arrested after a hotel party where one of the attendees was beaten and later died. That is tragic, not funny, but one of the men arrested was Marcus Badboy. His mama should have had him change his name at birth. If you believe in self-fulfilling prophecy, you will concur.

When our oldest was 18 we gave him the Ford station wagon as his first car. There wasn't much life left in it but it was wheels. When you are eighteen you know driving a big, honking 4000# station wagon is not cool. He personalized the vehicle by painting a giant skull and crossbones on the hood. He covered the dents on the side with the slogan "Mars Needs Women". I guess we were derelict in parental duties not to inform this kid to keep a low profile and not attract the highway patrol and local police. After his first speeding ticket, he painted "Support Your Local Police" on the other side. I don't know if that helped. The beast screamed "Stop Me" to local police. He got another ticket. This is a kid who learned more from experience than counsel. Even if he evaded speed traps, the highway patrol aircraft were honing in on him.
We never heard about the third ticket. Three and you go before the judge. In our county we had a judge nicknamed "the hanging judge". Dan saw him. His "councel" finally registered with the kid. We found out about this years later. He didn't get anymore speeding tickets. His honor banged his gavel and said, "$500. and 90 days" getting the kid's attention. After a pregnant pause, he said "Suspended sentence if you don't get another ticket." He didn't. Maybe he decided it was easier to support your local police than to do battle.

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