So I was excited this morning to return to the gym after taking a long hiatus due to some dentistry appointments that fell on the same day. I woke up an hour and a half prior to the class in order to have a small breakfast and get hydrated enough to avoid cramps in the middle of my workout. It was going to be a good day. I left the house at the usual 9:40am to arrive a few minutes before the 10am class. I listened to the new Sufjan Stevens album as I drove down the same path I would always go each week when I was better disciplined with my workouts. The sun wasn’t too bright, the temperature wasn’t too warm, the mood was just right. I made a right turn onto the intersection of Palm Ave and Taft Street and headed east where I would arrive in a matter of two minutes. And that’s when it happened.
Out in the middle of the street is a mustached police officer with a radar in his hand. He puts his hand out in front of him, signaling me to stop and pull over. I have been caught speeding. I tense up and say a curse word under my breath. He directs me to a parking lot near the street and tells his assistant cop to get my information. I hear him say “Forty-Nine” to his partner and I tense up again.
The female officer approaches my window and says, “Forty-Nine on a Thirty-Five street. How old are you?”
“Twenty-one, ma’am,” I respond.
“Old enough to know better, ” she replies with a smug look on her fat face. I look down at my steering wheel.
“I guess so.”
She takes my driver’s license, registration, and insurance info back to her paddywagon to finish the process. I turn Sufjan’s music back up and relax a little. This will be over soon. I close my eyes and pray. Lord, help me through this.
She returns to my window, tells me where to sign, tells me to read the pamphlet when I get home to determine how much I have to pay. She directs me back to the street and I drive down the last block towards my gym. I think to myself that I can use this tension in my boxing class now. Get some anger out of me. I arrive in front of the gym and I notice that the parking lot is fairly empty. I look at the door and see a sign that says OPEN, so I smile and walk through the doors. I see my coach, his wife, and my sparring partner inside moving boxes and prepping some stuff. “Sorry Dave, we’re closed today”
I closed my eyes slowly and realized this whole morning had gone to crap. I could have slept in. I could have eaten a bigger breakfast. I could have avoided a speeding ticket. I could have had a great day. I returned home and told my Dad what happened. He shrugged and gave me a few words of wisdom. I am ashamed. I hate these moments of life when I’m forced to learn things I didn’t want to learn.
