A story torn screaming from the pages of life, where it happened. 
The time: today.
The place: my town. Your town. Hell, it could be any town.
Actually, it was just outside Heidelberg city centre.
It was a little after 3pm when I ambled up to the edge of the sidewalk and caught my first glimpse of that shining red traffic light. I cast my eyes up and down the street; she was long, straight, and empty... just the way I like 'em.
The only vehicle anywhere on the horizon was a police van. It was marked, parked, and stationary. I stepped out...
The engine of the police van came suddenly to life, and the beast roared towards me. I looked at the fresh-faced cop who was glaring in my direction. A short-haired blond with jade-colored eyes and a frankly mischievous expression.
He was cute and fuckable, for sure... but... he was also a cop. Which meant that he would never be given the chance to explore the inside of my panties.
"A red light is a red light," he intoned dramatically.
I flashed my so-I-see-you're-a-man-in-a-uniform eyes at him, and responded, "I saw you were a marked police vehicle. And parked. So I thought it was safe to assume that you weren't planning to run me over."
"You may have a point," he flirted, "but don't forget.. a red light is always a red light!" And off he drove, not so much into the sunset as into the great traffic-free void before him.
I smiled to myself, and continued on with my trip to the local organic supermarket.
The moral of the tale
This little contretemps provided a timely reminder of the old adage that those who follow only the letter (as opposed to the spirit) of the law are fools; because they overlook or willfully ignore the contexts and circumstances which surround individual cases.
If the law in all its many real-world and virtual guises is by definition concerned with controlling and modifying behavior, then we might care to consider the flexible, 'softly, softly', each-case-on-its-own-merits approach of today's cop an unconditional success.
Because when I reached that same set of traffic lights again while returning from the organic supermarket, I stopped. And with the horny blond schmoozer's words echoing through my mind, I waited for the fuckers to turn green before stepping out and crossing the road.
But then again...
That doesn't account for the other three sets of crossings with red lights glaring ominously that I completely ignored on my way home.
I'm a menace to society! A serial jaywalker of any empty street I find, a victim of the belief that I have the right to control and modify my own behavior, according to whether or not there's any traffic present. Call it 'risk assessment,' if you will.
Clearly the question is not if I will reoffend, but when I will do it. Slap me in irons and throw away the key already. Please.
The time: today.
The place: my town. Your town. Hell, it could be any town.
Actually, it was just outside Heidelberg city centre.
It was a little after 3pm when I ambled up to the edge of the sidewalk and caught my first glimpse of that shining red traffic light. I cast my eyes up and down the street; she was long, straight, and empty... just the way I like 'em.
The only vehicle anywhere on the horizon was a police van. It was marked, parked, and stationary. I stepped out...
The engine of the police van came suddenly to life, and the beast roared towards me. I looked at the fresh-faced cop who was glaring in my direction. A short-haired blond with jade-colored eyes and a frankly mischievous expression.
He was cute and fuckable, for sure... but... he was also a cop. Which meant that he would never be given the chance to explore the inside of my panties.
"A red light is a red light," he intoned dramatically.
I flashed my so-I-see-you're-a-man-in-a-uniform eyes at him, and responded, "I saw you were a marked police vehicle. And parked. So I thought it was safe to assume that you weren't planning to run me over."
"You may have a point," he flirted, "but don't forget.. a red light is always a red light!" And off he drove, not so much into the sunset as into the great traffic-free void before him.
I smiled to myself, and continued on with my trip to the local organic supermarket.
The moral of the tale
This little contretemps provided a timely reminder of the old adage that those who follow only the letter (as opposed to the spirit) of the law are fools; because they overlook or willfully ignore the contexts and circumstances which surround individual cases.
If the law in all its many real-world and virtual guises is by definition concerned with controlling and modifying behavior, then we might care to consider the flexible, 'softly, softly', each-case-on-its-own-merits approach of today's cop an unconditional success.
Because when I reached that same set of traffic lights again while returning from the organic supermarket, I stopped. And with the horny blond schmoozer's words echoing through my mind, I waited for the fuckers to turn green before stepping out and crossing the road.
But then again...
That doesn't account for the other three sets of crossings with red lights glaring ominously that I completely ignored on my way home.
I'm a menace to society! A serial jaywalker of any empty street I find, a victim of the belief that I have the right to control and modify my own behavior, according to whether or not there's any traffic present. Call it 'risk assessment,' if you will.
Clearly the question is not if I will reoffend, but when I will do it. Slap me in irons and throw away the key already. Please.