Gente que Cuenta

The fine,
by Leonor Henríquez

Trafic lights Atril press
“The fact is that now, after this attack on my pocket, I am going 10kph, so to speak…”

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The dreaded envelope arrived.

Calgary Police: You have been ticketed for speeding.

I was supposedly going 80kph in a construction zone where I was supposed to go 60kph.

I plead guilty and it is because in the summer/fall, the entire city becomes a disaster area. As a well-known saying states, here in Calgary there are only two seasons: Winter and Construction.

I have to be very careful because on my daily routes there are signs all the time that say REDUCE SPEED, and being absent-minded, I get distracted.

The fact is that now, after this attack on my pocket, I am going 10kph, so to speak, and I don’t care if others stick their cars to mine, if they pass me slashing their tires, or if they give me the well-known finger sign.

I am only telling this uninteresting story because now every time I see those big signs, sometimes bright, that order you to reduce your speed, I remember that story my father told, who once driving through the province of our country of origin, came across a sign that said REDUCE 60 Km. He responsibly obeyed and lowered his speed.

A little further on:

REDUCE 30 Km.

And a little later:

REDUCE 10 Km.

Already without stepping on the accelerator, another sign appeared: REDUCE 5 Km.

Until finally a big and cheerful sign said:

“WELCOME TO REDUCE”

At least the memory of that joke my father used to tell made me smile.

What was not funny at all was the $239 fine that I proceeded to pay without complaining.

From now on, my slogan is REDUCE and whoever waves me the well-known finger sign, I will say hi accordingly.

www.atril .press Leonor Henríquez e1670869356570

Leonor Henríquez (Caracas, Venezuela) Civil Engineer by training (UCAB 1985), writer and apprentice poet by vocation. From her time in engineering emerged her Office Stories (1997), another way of seeing the corporate world. Her latest publications include reflections on grief, Hopecrumbs (2020) (www.hopecrumbs.com) and “The Adventures of Chispita” (2021) (www.chispita.ca) an allegory of life inside Mom’s belly.
Today she shares her “impulsive meditations” from Calgary, Canada, where she lives.
leonorcanada@gmail.com

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