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Monday, September 10, 2007 Free parking does not exist. A full row of cars lined each side of the street, every one paired with its own parking meter. The meters only required payment until 6pm on weekdays, so we were excited to find free parking downtown. But it was not to be. After about an hour, we returned to the the block and discovered that it was nearly empty. Only two cars were left, and mine was not one of them. My first thought was that it'd been stolen (strange, considering the state of my car compared to the niceties of the neighborhood). Then we saw a sign hidden behind a tree: "Tow Away Zone: 15 minute parking 9pm -9am Saturday-Sunday." What? The SUV next to where my car used to be had three parking tickets decorating its windows, but it was still there. I called the police station to find out what had happened and was put on hold. As I was waiting to discover the fate of my car, a wizened cab driver pulled up and asked if we needed his services. "You have to get home to your husband. Go home to your husband, he's waiting for you." Creepy. Diana (the other person involved in this misadventure, another twenty-something female) managed to get him to go away after a few minutes. Shortly after, a trio across the street was exclaiming something about a car, so I asked them if theirs had just been towed, since I figured that was the fate of mine (still on hold). An Asian girl replied that her car was still there, but it was a rental and she was trying to figure out if she needed to pay the ticket. "I'm not even living in this country anymore. But I still have an Illinois license." Her friend said that the area was a trap, and she ranted about Chicago's mob-controlled government. Finally I got someone on the phone, and he informed me that they had no record of my car being towed. "Go to the nearest police station and file a report. It's stolen." The others thought this unlikely and convinced me that I should try going to the impound lot anyway--the strangers-turned-friends even offered us a ride, which we were grateful to accept. One discussion about Hong Kong, an hour and a half, and $160 (not including the $50 ticket that looks like it might have been written after the tow truck took the car) later, I had my car back. Ah, the joys of Chicago. Labels: Chicago ^ Top | 5:51 PM | | | 
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