One of the best things about living in a small town is the NEWSPAPER--or, in the case of my town, the website, especially the "Local Drama" section. (They don't call it this. Officially, it's the "police report.") I found this amazing local drama among last month's reports, same day.
Item 1: Local woman is arrested for driving without headlights long after sundown. Officers notice a strong scent of alcohol, so they ask her to take the breathalizer test, and she fails. They then discover she has a long string of DUI arrests and a suspended drivers license. They take her car away from her ("for safekeeping") and send her home, apparently on foot.
Item 2: Local woman calls the police to come remove her teenager from the house. Officers explain that they can't just DO that, there is a procedure to follow, involving more phone calls, etc. Woman says, ok...no problem, she doesn't need any further help. Several hours later, officers are called back to the residence, which now lodges a disorderly person complaint--against the mother, who is standing outside of the residence YELLING and won't quit. Officers place her under arrest and take her to jail.
NOWIASKYOU, dept.: Which woman do YOU think should have spent the night in the slammer? Have you ever had a teenager?
Oh, lord. The candy-coated treatment that we hand out to drunk drivers in North America is a constant source of agony for me.
ReplyDeleteI drink like an enthusiastic fish. And I never, ever, EVER, drive my car after even one drink. This is not rocket surgery, people. How hard is this?
Ours is the "City" section, which we also refer to as the "crime report". Ours generally consists of shoplifters whose lawyers argue that they're now in treatment to fix their drug addiction, which caused the shoplifting (goods to sell = drugs). That, and domestic disputes. We have some of the most hapless criminals on earth, I swear.
I actually quite prefer it that way.
But the drunk drivers - I could throttle them personally and individually.
I'm all for the Scandinavian approach, i.e., strict as hell: all drivers suspected of drinking before driving get a breathalizer test. drunk driving = .02 blood alcohol level in Sweden and .01 blood alcohol level in Norway (.01 is if you drink a small glass of very weak liquor in one hour) vs. the .08 classification in most of the U.S. (.08 is what you'd have if you drank 4 beers on an empty stomach in one hour for males, and 3 beers on an empty stomach in 1 hr for females.
ReplyDeleteIn sweden, drunk driving automatically is punished by 1 year in jail. Norway is even stricter. 1st offense nets you 3 weeks in jail at hard labor and 1 year suspended drivers license. 2nd offense within 5 years, permanent loss of drivers license. they don't play around.
In Hungary if you are caught driving while having ANY alcohol on your breath they throw the book at you AND they take your license away. That's it. You don't get it back. Ever.
ReplyDeletehooray for hungary! can you imagine the US legislators going along with that? maybe they could pass something like that state by state. ha. wisconsin??
ReplyDeleteThe U. S, lgislators would be among the first to lose their license if we had Hungary's law on the books.e
ReplyDeletethis really sounds like an EXCELLENT idea!!! why don't you suggest it to your senator from AZ, darlene?
ReplyDeleteYour town is not small enough for the "real" drama of who got invited to whose home for dinner (menu provided). We like reading the Glen Ullin (ND) Times for fun here. The exciting part is finding out what day they're going to have fish sticks at the local nursing home.
ReplyDeleteThe D.N.
Our small town newspaper's listing just gives the facts, Ma'am. Date/time/location/category of offense/category of person(s) involved. I do recall, back in the 1950s, how my great-grandfather was constantly writing little personal items which their local newspaper nearly always (perhaps always, I don't know) published - much as The D.N.'s must do.
ReplyDeleteCop Car
DN: how i LOVE fish sticks*! i know, i know...out here, the folks have grown up eating fresh fish caught by their own hands, and they wouldn't DREAM of buying, much less eating, fish sticks. they're actually kind of hard to come by in the supermarkets. it must be a North Dakota thing....
ReplyDelete*tater tots, too...which have as much resemblance to actual potatoes as fish sticks do to fish. it's the lovely crunchy coating!
Cop Car:
ReplyDeleteIt's neat that your great-grandFATHER did the writing for the family's social entries. I suppose your great-grandMOTHER had her hands full with cooking, cleaning, laundry, and child care, no matter the season or the day.