The other day I got a ticket for running a railroad signal (I swear it didn’t go off until I was already on the tracks, but that’s beside the point). Starting yesterday I am receiving unsolicited mail from opportunistic lawyers who want to represent me. These mails while not actually dishonest, are certianly misleading. Some highlights to illustrate:

“… the police have a prosecutor who would prosecute the State’s case against you.”

“… may result in a motor vehicle surcharge, an increate in your insurance premiums, enhanced fines and penalties, and in some rare instances; a term of incarceration.”

“… you want to ensure that your plea would not subject you to the payment of a substantial fine, suspension of your driving privileges, points on your driving record, DMV and Insurance surcharges or even jail term.”

These pinnacles of integrity are:

* Pathak & Shah, LLP
* Jude O. Nkama, Esq.
* Emmanuel C. Nwotite and Associates

One of the problems with living by the Hudson in Jersey City is dealing with the seemingly endless summer fesitvals. Almost every other weekend it’s either a holiday, some ethnic pride day (I swear we have Peurto Rican day at least twice a summer), or just “let’s make a mess on the riverfront” day. These festivals invariably start with a “parade” down Montgomery, a street with the only exit for no less then 5 20+ story apartment buildings. The “parade” is usually made up of a few cars blasting music (flags draped over the hood optional), a few of lost looking groups of people waving towards where the crowds of observers would be if there were any, possibly a band, and a flotilla of motorcycle cops (often numbering more then the other participants) leading the way.

I don’t know why it is, but it seems when you put a cop on a motorcycle they become assholes. I say this because I was trying to exit my garage right before the parade, and turn right on Warren (half a block). Now the police and motorcycles were in front on me in the intersection of Warren and Mongomery, but everything else was a block and a helf behind me. There was no one except for one cop who had just gotten off his bike between me and Warren, and nothing was happening on Warren. Instead on letting me go the 30 yards to the corner and turn, like I indicated I wanted to, the police in thier wisdom decided it would be a better move to have me make a U turn across 3 lanes and head back up Montgomery into the path of the people attempting to walk down it. Real smart eh? When I tried to indicate this might not be te best idea, they just continued to point to the left. Not only that, one of Jersey City’s finest decides to stand a foot in front of my car and insist in stronger and stronger tones that I turn left. As much as I was tempted to just turn, I thought it best to warn him that he was standing in the path my automobile would take since, tempting as it was, I bet running down a cop, even when they are literally asking for it, probably isn’t a good idea.