Tickets in Gilbert

Buy tickets for Singin' in the Rain. Selling out fast. But that's not the kind of ticket I'm talking about in the title above.

I woke up late this morning and was subsequently running late for work. The theatre is right in the heart of old town Gilbert; narrow streets, old-timey store fronts... slow speed limit. I turned onto Gilbert road, and in that part of town the limit goes down to 25; the street I was on was a 35. I only had a short distance to go from that first turn, to the light where you turn into get to the theatre on West Page. The restaurant by the theatre, Grainbelt, has a narrow parking lot, and there's a ton of construction, so I was watching carefully for cars backing out or pedestrians crossing; there were none. As I got to the theatre's front parking lot, I hear the siren go off behind me. It was a motorcycle cop.

Yup, I was pulled over for going 35 in a 25. I pulled into the side parking lot and stopped. Brad, one of our techs for the show, witnessed this all, for he was working yet again on our rain stage. The cop comes up:

"Good afternoon," he said.

"Good morning."

"Or good morning rather," he said. I laughed. "Do you know why I pulled you over."

"Probably speeding." Not the best answer I could have given, I admit, but I knew I wasn't going 25, so why beat about the bush.

"That's right. You know how fast you were going."

"No I do not." Funny how one never seems to use contractions when in trouble.

"You were clocked at going 35." I just said Oh, and he asked, "Do you know how fast the speed limit is?"

"25."

"...That's right." Ha!

"And," he said. And? "--You also ran that stop sign right there."

I looked over and saw the stop sign there is right before turning into the side parking lot. Shit. Ah well.

I apologized, and told him my only thought was pulling into the parking lot. He asked, "Did you not see me?" Or something to the effect, here my mind goes blank. Apparently, his lights were on for awhile before he sirened. I didn't notice because as I said, I was looking for pedestrians and other hazards. He figured as much, that I probably just freaked out. Meanwhile, another cop shows up. He later expalined he had called for backup. Backup! He thought, that because I ran the sign and didn't stop right away, that I was going to run or jump out of my car or something. Not me specifically, but he said typically that's what happens.

Ok, no big deal right? Yeah, I got a ticket. Gilbert police have nothing better to do anyway. I explained that I was just trying to get to work, which was "this building" (pointing to the theatre). It was 10:02 when I said this. But man was I shaking. When I got my license out I also handed him my health insurance card and my voice started to tremble. He asked if I had a suspended license, which was the thought he had when I ran the sign. No, I replied. In the end, he thanked me for "being cool" about it all and I thanked him too. I walked into the box office, and the first time I noticed was 10:13. Great, a ticket, and I was late, on the busiest morning we've had in like two weeks.

I didn't think this until after, but I couldn't go faster than the gardening or pickup truck that was right in front of me could I? Why didn't HE get the bust? I wish I had said that to the cop; I wonder what his response would have been. Oh, and if it wasn't clear, I wasn't cited for the stop sign. He figured, as I said, I just "freaked out." But such is life. Needless to say I drove rather cautiously the rest of the day. The thing I just keep thinking about was this really wasn't some big ordeal, yet I still quivered as though I had been going 60 in a 25 and hit two old ladies and a pony with my Cruella hair blowing wildly in the wind. I suppose its just the lack of experience of dealing with local law enforcement. That does not mean I want MORE experience, but, you know what I mean.

So, thank you Gilbert Police for keeping another actor at bay. In our humble little lives, I guess we take what we can, even if its only ten miles an hour.