Of course my little scheme backfired, because Hick decided to come over to the house and tell me something he'd discovered.
"I put a nickel in my parking meter, and IT WORKED!"
"Oh. Good for you."
"You can get an HOUR for a nickel!"
"That's nice."
I guess maybe he'd been sitting there for an hour, watching it work. I didn't want to ask. He might have brought it in the house so I could admire it, and watch to see if it was accurate.
Seriously. What does it matter if that thing works? Is anybody going to watch it? Will he barricade people in his shed, and only let them out when time is up?
Besides, that parking meter is only a head. To get a pole to hold it up would probably cost me several years worth of savings bonds. I think a piece of pipe like he got to make his blacktop roller would be a little too big. So Hick most likely would not go the recycle or free or friends in parking-meter-pole places route, and I'd be out some funds. He might possibly even want to pour some concrete, buy a new concrete drill, and hold that parking meter down with screws that went through the laundry in his pockets and caused the purchase of a new dryer!
He can't set it up, even if he had an expensive pole or concrete monument to mount it on, and charge people to park out here. That would require quite a bit of fencing to funnel them into that ONE parking space. So much field, so little chance of someone making you pay to park in it.
Also, the door on that parking meter doesn't lock. So even if Hick could strong-arm several people into parking there for an hour, some ne'er-do-well would most likely rob that parking meter of its nickels.
Hick was all excited about his discovery, though.
You'd think he plans on becoming a nickelillionaire or something.
Are you kidding? That parking meter is cool, the fact that it works makes it AWESOME!!! Why don't women understand stuff like that? Tell Hick that I get it.
ReplyDeleteTHIS woman understands--in fact, I own a parking meter, myself!!
DeleteGosh! You two make me sound like I'm an antiparkingmeterite!
DeleteThe parking meter is cool. But I have a question: Can he get the money out afterwards?
ReplyDeleteHe checked it when he got it and said it was empty. So I'm guessing that it doesn't lock, because he didn't mention a key.
DeleteI once had to do an illustration with a parking meter but all of those in downtown Portland were new digital ones and I had to hunt for a quintessential picture of one...like Hick's.
ReplyDeleteDIGITAL? What will they think of next? Slicing bread?
DeleteWe used to have the regular parking meters on Main Street. Now there aren't any, and where I go in the city, there aren't meters. So I never thought about them being digital now.
Ahhh, let Hick have his excitement. It's nice to know something you picked up somewhere for next to nothing actually still work, even if you don't plan to use it for anything more than entertainment.
ReplyDeleteYes. I need to stop putting the kibosh on Hick's good times. He needs to buy some of those party favor things that you blow into and make a noise.
DeleteIt's a cool device and I can see how it's exciting to find out it actually works.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure no one else in our neighborhood has one!
DeleteI'm with Joe I think it is really cool not only to have but that it works, I bet Hick could fix the door to where it would lock, you know to keep the ne'er-do-wells from ripping him off and mount that meter right there in your driveway, you never know how many people may want to pay to park in your spot.
ReplyDeleteHe COULD do that. But he'd have to find a truckload of those tire-puncturing strips to lay on the road frontage for the yard and the BARn field, or they'd just avoid the driveway and pull onto the grass.
DeleteI wouldn't broadcast that hick has a parking meter, or someone will try to pry the coins out. Maybe you could keep him busy, Val. Give him a roll of nickels... see where I'm going?
ReplyDeleteI'm pickin' up what you're layin' down!
DeleteIt has something to do with gathering coins. HeWho loves to empty the vending machines here and then try to guess how much money he has before he takes it to the bank to be counted. My dad loved to grab all my keys and gather the coins ...... then count them all by hand after he studied them with a magnifying glass. That would keep him busy all day.
ReplyDeleteOoh! Yes! Another idea of how to keep Hick busy all day!
DeleteI'm kind of mad at Hick, because yesterday he drove down to College Town to have breakfast with Genius, and he FOUND A PENNY in front of Goodwill there.
Or .... maybe he just told you that to get you hooked on his Goodwill habit!!
DeleteYou are overestimating Hick. He's not that sly.
DeletePerhaps if you filled that meter up with coins, Hick would take the proceedings and take a trip?
ReplyDeleteI could fill it with pennies from his tall red plastic Coke bottle bank, but he wouldn't get very far. Maybe I should suggest that he needs a Parking Meter Shed...
Delete