Getting Towed: The Nightmare You Wake Up To
I read that something like 200 cars were towed in Albany County on the first night of the snow emergency. That's a lot of angry people waking up this week and realizing that they were going to have to find another way to get to work in the morning. Of all the things that can happen to your vehicle (without you being in it) getting towed is probably the worst. It's humiliating, inconveniencing, and expensive as hell. I've been towed a few times having lived in Albany most of life. If you've ever had it happen, you know first hand that it's literally a nightmare you wake up to.
First of all, it's expensive. You have to pay the fine for being illegally parked, on top of the fee to get your car back. It's never less than $200 total.
The panic that sets in when you can't find your car is bad enough, but then when you realize it was YOUR fault, panic quickly becomes anger. You look to blame anyone but yourself, but the truth is, you blew it. You didn't read the signs, you didn't heed the warnings. This one is all you buck-o.
And don't expect anyone to feel bad for you. If your car gets broken in to, you'll get all the sympathy in the world. But when you get towed, you have no friends. Your own family may turn their back on you. My dad is famous for saying something like, 'It's your own damn fault Brian, you don't pay attention!' Thanks pops, can I at least get a ride to the mystery place it's locked up?
Tommy's Towing Hut is usually in the seediest part of town; so seedy that Tommy himself is usually locked behind a bullet-proof cage. Don't try to sweet-talk him either. He pretends to be sympathetic but that price ain't coming down. And on the inside, you know he loves it! Can't get mad a him either, he's just doing his job.
He may not be saying it aloud, but you know he's thinking, "It's your own damn fault Brian!"
I obviously didn't pay attention.