I have three film related interpretations of the Sheriff’s officer I encountered today. But first, the story. The newly bloomed sky of blue and sunshine goodness brought pretty much every living soul out of their caves today, and a great deal headed for the tourist trap (but always awesome) Multnomah Falls. You can see the beautiful falls in the Wiki Commons shot above. I had conjured this idea yesterday, and when we arrived today it was chaos. I ended up making a rash decision to park in the red zone, like many others already had, next to a place that was reserved for motor homes and people had parked two deep in those reserved spaces. It was insane.
Then, after the hike and as we we descend, I can see my car far far below, all other cars now gone, and a rectangular speck of white on the driver’s side windshield wiper. Shit. When we get down, it turns out to be a WARNING,
but this guy is there, waiting and he says, “So! It’s your lucky day!” Then proceeds to lecture me about parking in a fire lane which is ridiculous when you think about it (are the falls going to catch on fire?). First of all, he looks like Buford T Justice.
Next Up: Dirty Harry
Sheriff’s Officer: I know what you’re wondering. Is that a parking ticket, or just a warning? Well, seeing as how you parked illegally makes me wonder too. Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
And lastly, I could just see him as the warden from Cool Hand Luke telling me that what we’ve got here is a failure. Of communication? Nah. Of traffic control? Yes.
