PARKING MACHINE FIRE? So, I’m in seattle, going to the courthouse to file a docu

PARKING MACHINE FIRE?

So, I’m in seattle, going to the courthouse to file a document, and I walk up to pay for the parking, and absently notice that there is smoke billowing out of it, it’s carrying the powerful smell of ozone from what’s obviously an electrical fire. So, of course, I can’t pay for parking. I think about being civically minded but I call the fire department primarily in order to create a record of the problem in case I get a ticket. Over the next five minutes I have to convince two oblivious men not to just stick their credit cards in machine, despite the fact that the display is blank, smoke is coming out of it, and it emits no sign of life. More quickly than I expected, two trucks and a mob of firemen show up, followed by three guys from the parking company. All of whom attend to the meter as if it’s an injured human.

I can’t quite figure out why, but it just seemed very surreal. Something Renee Magritte would paint. I mean, it’s something to do with anthropomorphizing the parking meeter I think. But it was just… well, weird.