Man Known As "The Parking Meter Fairy" Has Pink, Curly Wig - Stuffs Meters

[matcom]

<snip>

As the man in a pink curly wig, a lavender tutu and diaphanous angel wings skated along the streets of Miami's trendy Coconut Grove area, a woman sitting at a table asked him if he was a fairy of some sort.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm the parking meter fairy."

"Thank you," said a man at the same table, before giving the fairy a cigarette in appreciation for his kindness.

The fairy chatted briefly with them while taking a few puffs. Then he was off on his appointed rounds -- putting quarters in parking meters about to expire. As he was leaving, the man at the table said, "Long live the meter fairy."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-dfairy15jul15,0,5352343.story?coll=sfla-news-miami

[pagerbear]

1. That's just sick!

Naw.....not really.

[arwalden]

2. I Recall A Story About Someone Who Was Given A CITATION

for putting coins in parking meters that were about to expire. Apparently it really annoyed the town's police (or parking meter-attendants) and was cutting in to their parking fine revenue.

Was it this guy?

-- Allen

[GOPisEvil]

5. That was in Cincinnati, I believe.

I believe it is a crime in other localities as well.

[olddem43]

8. The true story of the Cincinnati "meter feeding Granny" is

that she was hanging around the policeman (not a meter maid) who enforcing parking meters and walking ahead of him to coin expired meters just before he got to them. He asked her if the first one was her car, she said not, and she then proceeded to continue to re-coin other meters. He asked her to stop doing that and she refused. He then cited her for interfering with an officer. The media tried to make a big deal of it and she was on some tabloid TV shows. Eventually, she was convicted and paid a fine.

The real purpose of parking meters is not to collect revenue, but to create parking turnover so that businesses can operate. No business district wants the convenient curb spaces filled up with all-day parking.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. I wonder if he asked permission

Before borrowing Dick Gephardts uniform?

[rooboy]

4. This sort of thing is common in the US, isn't it?

On the Gold Coast here, we have "meter maids" - girls in bikinis who wander the streets putting coins in the parking meters. They're actually paid for by the council/chamber of commerce.

In fact, about a year ago there was a turf war between two sets of meter maids who were competing to stuff the same meters. Bizarre.

[underpants]

7. "You don't have one" said to someone I know getting a ticket

She went to PAY a parking ticket and walked out to find the metermaid (*worst job in the world) giving her another ticket.

She informed the metermaid that she had put plenty enough money in THAT meter

"That isn't your meter" was the reply

"Which meter was I supposed to use?"

"You don't have one" slaps ticket on wind shield

True story

[underpants]

6. Hopefully he will sell enough calenders to keep doing this

[Squeech]

9. I heard about a guy in England

He travels with a hand-held power grinder to remove boots that the parking police has applied to parked cars. He wears a goofy costume and calls himself something like "Grinder Man." Doesn't have the wings though...