I was talking to a college age kid

 that had been out partying a bit the night before. He told me he was generally pretty careful of where he goes. He said he started taking precautions since he had a close call with getting thrown in jail.

Smart kid. He seems to learn fast.

Of course, I am a smartass and replied "I hate getting thrown in jail. It seems that every I get thrown in the slam I wind up in a cell next to some kind of lunatic. The last one two weeks ago was a pyromaniac that kept setting his bedding on fire."

"Really?" he asked. "How often do you get arrested?"

"About every five or six months. Usually for drinking and tearing stuff up," I replied, casually. "I got nailed for homicide once but they couldn't make it stick. That and the arson bust they took me in for. I was refilling my lawn mower when the cop showed so I poured gas on him and chased him with a lighter. He got away. The grass caught fire so they charged me with arson. They couldn't make it stick so I paid $10 for not having a permit for an outside fire."

He looked shocked.

"Generally speaking, when I get drunk the cops usually overlook it unless I get particularly nasty because they don't like hauling me in. It generally takes five or six of them to settle me down. For some reason pepper spray doesn't bother me any."

"How often does that happen?" he asked, shocked. He looked like he was talking to Charles Manson or some hatchet murderer.

"About every coupla weeks," I replied, casually. "I like to party. Last time I was driving home and they stopped me with a beer in one hand, a hypodermic needle in the other and a joint in my mouth. The cop was having a rough night and wasn't in the mood to fight so he let me go."

He looked at me like a man that was seeing dawn and suddenly blushed.

"You are a smart man," I said. "It does take you a while to see through the bullshit in life, but at least a close call with an arrest for drunken stupidity has turned you into a cautious man. You ought to make out OK."

"Seriously," he asked. "How many times have you been arrested?"

"Once, really," I replied. "It was a case of mistaken identity for a two-bit armed robbery. I sat in the can about an hour before I was released. I suppose the parking ticket that went to warrant could make it twice but I was never even booked for that one. I just coughed up my $25 bond, forfieted it and ended it there."

Truth of the matter is that this young man should plan for encounters with the law in the future. He's a good guy and not a trouble maker but things are changing.

It seems easier and easier these days to run afoul of the law. I don't blame this on the police. I blame it on both the lawmakers and the states and municipalities that are desperate for the revenue that they can get from fines.

If they would stop squandering our money they would not have to resort to things like this.




To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY