So I got pulled over first thing in the morning today. For those who are not in the US, a pull-over is what a cop does to you when you have just flouted a traffic rule. He asks you to stop so that he can come over and make you feel guilty and miserable about your little mistake and just when you are feeling all that, he slaps you with a hefty fine, effectively decreasing your bank account balance while simultaneously augmenting that of the state by the precise amount. The rule that I flouted was stopping at a stop sign. I did what's called a rolling stop and I think that doing this and getting caught carries a fine of around 300$ in California. I won't say that it's a stupid rule because there is no such thing but it's one of those rules which are, let's say, easier to find yourself breaking than others. Anyway, the cop pulls me over and the following conversation takes place:
Cop: Do you know why I've pulled you over?
Me: I suppose it's the rolling stop, isn't it?
Cop: That's right. Care to explain why you did that?
(Now there is really no explanation for doing such a thing except, maybe, the assertion that such a generalized rule is ridiculous and that life must be more fair with different rules for those who are better at driving than for those who are locomotionally stunted. The argument is a slippery slope though and pretty soon you would find yourself trying to justify eugenics. Something told me then and there that that was not the conversation I wanted to have with a police officer.)
Me: Well, I have to catch a bus at 10:00 and I was trying to make it to the stop in time.
Cop: Can I see your registration and license?
(I handed them to him. Everything was in order but having been pulled over several times before this I was perfectly aware that these formalities were just the first nails in the coffin. I was being written a ticket.)
Me: Officer, do you think you can leave me with a warning? I haven't had a ticket in the last two years and this is just a one off mistake.
Cop: This is a grave mistake and I cannot possibly leave you with a warning. What assures me that without the financial handicap you'd not do it again.
(There is frankly no argument that I could give. I knew the rule and had broken it. A lot of people do it but probability dictates that some of them get caught at times and they must simply pay up. I had given up to the possibility that I could get out of this so I just sat there waiting for the cop to write down that ticket and hand it to me. I must say that I was neither nervous nor too sad. I have had the experience far too many times to be nervous anymore and I understand that for the little fun that I have on my motorcycle I'll have to part with some money every now and then. At this point the cop starts making small talk and I start answering him with no particular importance. I knew how it was going to end and only wanted it to end soon enough for me to catch the bus.)
Cop: So, where are you from?
Me: India.
Cop: How long have you stayed here?
Me: 6 and a half years now. (The length of my stay in SD often doesn't register until I vocalize it.)
Cop: That's a long time! So you must really like it here. Are you done with your studies and are you planning to stay?
Me: I'm done with my studies but I'm not sure. I might go back to India.
Cop: Why? Don't you like it here?
Me: No, it's not that I do not like it here. It's just that I've been getting too many tickets!
And the cop burst out laughing. I realized that this was not too shabby a joke and his laugh was so infectious that I started laughing too. And now that I think about it, it was such a weird situation. Here I was pulled over by the side of the road with the cop's car going all blue and red and he was in the middle of slapping me a ticket, and during all this we both were doubling up with laughter. After the joke subsided, he said,
Cop: Man, that was a good one!
Me: I know. I think it was pretty good too.
Cop: You know what, I'll let you go this time. Drive safely.
And I realized that finally I had cracked a joke which was actually worth something. Several hundred dollars at least but more importantly it was worth a weird and deep sense of happiness and satisfaction at knowing that life can sometimes take a joke and laugh and let go, if only for a moment, its morose insistence on rules and efficacy.