Mea Culpa

I accidentally entered a one way zone. I was stopped by a policeman, who looked more like a policeboy, and asked me for my driver’s license. I gave it with a smile because my driver’s license had expired and I have not renewed it. He looked at it, brought me to the station, and removed the license plate of the motorbike. I tried pleading but it didn’t work.

In the police station all the young policemen were looking at me, some were whispering, “Hey, he looks like the chief.” “Hey, isn’t that the chief?” They were looking at my driver’s license and they kept asking me if I’m related to this or that person and most of the time I didn’t even know the names they were mentioning. I have the impression that because I wear glasses and looked like a “learned man", I think they thought that I am a man with connections. So they were a little kinder to me. They called me “kuya” or big brother and the guy who gave me the ticket even told me this, “Brother, I am just writing you the ticket. I am not the one who apprehended you; tell that to whomever you will be calling.”

Yes, I’m bad. I was caught driving without a license. Anyways, I am not proud of this: After a few days my driver’s license and the bike’s license plate were brought to our house by my friend, a policeman. I didn’t pay a single centavo, though I offered to pay the fines.

I’m bad!

My wife told her lady friend of what happened to me. A few days later my wife’s friend had a police story of her own. Her little brother was apprehended for the same reason that I was, he entered a one way lane. His driver’s license was confiscated and he was issued a ticket. My wife’s friend, the older sister, went to the police station to settle the matter. It just so happens that my wife’s friend is attractive. So when the policemen saw her, they gave her back the driver’s license without any ado. They were even joking about how one of their colleagues could apprehend such a “beautiful lady.”

Of course my wife’s friend was not flattered. She told my wife that she almost thought of calling Mike Enriquez, the “imbestigador,” to have the policemen’s “unfairness” and “lustiness’ exposed to the media when she saw a homely lady begging the policemen for her driver’s license and the way they treated her shabbily.

I’m bad but… the whole system is worse.

I know, I'm working on getting a new license but it's that hassle that's driving me nuts.