Cocaine Princess here.
Saturday night I was so bored stuck inside the house I fell asleep on the couch at 7 in the evening. I can't remember the last time I fell asleep that early on a Saturday night. Or maybe my lack of sleep finally caught up with me. I woke up at 4 in the morning. My sister was sleeping at the end of the couch. When I awoken I was so hungry. I didn't want to wake 'A' up so I tip toed around the kitchen trying to find something to eat. I was craving for something salty. I went over to the pantry and grabbed a can of Pringles. What I really wanted was a large plate of fries drenched in salt and vinegar. Don't you just love Pringles? They fit so perfectly in your mouth and there are no broken bitty pieces like how you always find in a bag of chips. After munching on a handful I went back to sleep and woke up again around 9am-ish. During breakfast my sister informed me about the late night visit the neighborhood received from the By-law enforcement officers.
'I can't believe I missed all the excitement. The one night I fall asleep.' 'Excitement? It was embarrassing,' 'A' replied. All of us were standing in our robes as we got fined.' 'How did they find out?' 'I don't know, somebody must have tipped them off.' 'It couldn't have been any of the neighbors,' I said. 'How much did everyone get fined?' '$1500.00.' '$1500.00?! You're kidding? For violating the water ban? Shouldn't they have given everyone a warning first?' I questioned. She handed me a yellow colored flyer. It was a letter sent from the town informing everyone about the water ban.
'Residents must comply with this mandatory ban in order to ensure uninterrupted water service to all residents for health and safety purposes. No exceptions will be made. Any person contravening this mandatory ban is guilty of an offence and shall be charged under the provisions of the By-Law. Residents will receive an immediate $1500.00 on a first offence, $2500.00 on a second offence and a maximum fine up to $5000.00 for a third offence.'
'They weren't kidding. So what are you going to do?' I asked. 'I don't have a choice, I'm going to have to pay it,' 'A' replied back.
It wasn't just in our neighborhood, people were being sneaky and turning on their water late at night all over town. Nobody took the ban seriously. One of the people fined, the publisher of our newspaper. He made it very clear he wasn't going to pay. On Monday he marched up to City Hall to give them a piece of his mind. On his way he saw something very interesting. A new strip mall is going up. The construction workers were laying new grass and then watering it. He located the foreman and explained the town was under an outdoor water ban. The foreman explained back the mall developer had gotten permission from City Hall to water the grass. Fuming he went to City Hall, 'the town is under a mandatory outdoor water ban. The ban is in effect for everyone, no exceptions!' he argued.
Long Story Short: Sometimes it pays to be a loud mouth. The ban has been lifted. As for the fine, the town council will be voting next week on whether or not residents who violated the ban should pay. Loud mouth is making a big stink about not wanting to pay it since City Hall goofed up by making an exception.
My sister has already paid the fine. If City Hall decides to vote against it all those who paid will be refunded. I think it's unlikely.
The front page of yesterday's paper read, 'Yokels At City Hall.' Below the headline was a picture of our Mayor and the lawn being watered around the mall.
I may live in a small town but there's always some type of drama.
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
