A Blessing in Disguise

Caroline Bradshaw

Mark Easby

WR 121

 June 28, 2014

A Blessing in Disguise

        While most days start with a general routine:  we get up, shower, go to work, back to sleep, then repeat, there are the days we get those breaks, the days off where things can be different.  How we choose to spend that time can affect us all, maybe just for the day or maybe for the rest of our lives.  There are the decisions we make that day which can change everything.

        The day started as any regular day off.  I woke up around 10, without a game plan, I just knew I had no other obligations and the day was all mine.  So where better to spend a day to yourself than at the beautiful California coast and relax under the warm sun.  That became the plan.  The smell of the ocean was salty, the air felt cool and breezy, and the perfect temperature of the sun beaming down seemed to be quickly adding a bronzy glow to my skin.  Sunbathing might be a stereotypical Southern Californian thing but really that’s what we do.  After a few long hours of a good book in the sun it was time to go as the beach was beginning to fill up with high school kids and tourist.  With nothing left on the agenda it was time to fill up space and run some errands until something came up.  Who would’ve thought a simple text with an invite to come over would be a prelude to my story.

        The text was from a good friend of mine at the time, Matt, that I had known since I was 12.  He had been over at his beach house enjoying a few drinks with a couple of our other close friends.  This of course sounded like a great idea and with no hesitation I got in my car to come over.  I arrived around 5pm and in general Southern California beach parking was a pain. When I finally found a parking space the street sign read no overnight parking without a proper permit after 10pm.  “No big deal.” I thought to myself “I have five hours to move my car and had no real intention to stay past 10 pm since I have work in the morning. “

        When I stepped into the house I saw the familiar comforting faces of my best friends, and the faint mellow sound of Death Cab for Cutie playing in the background.  Things felt normal.  I picked up a beer like everyone else and that ice cold refreshing feel after a hot Southern California day was just the right way to cap off another unproductive day off.  As one beer became another and then another, what was intended to be a beer or two became more than that.  The ten beer cans in front of me triggered me to think of checking the time; I had completely lost track and it was already 9:50pm!  I had to be on my way.  I decided that I wasn’t in any condition to do the 15 mile drive home and quickly changed my thought of doing so and of course Matt was completely ok with me staying the night and I would just leave for work in the morning.  I did still have to move my car though and just down the street I knew I could park with no limitations.  In what I felt was a clear frame of mind I hopped into my car and drove.  After all the videos I’ve seen, all the articles I’ve read, and stories on the news I saw, I did it anyways thinking “What’s the risk, it’s only a couple feet.”  Plain and simple I drove drunk.

        It felt as if the police officer was waiting for me.  I had only turned the corner; it couldn’t have been 50 feet.  I saw the obnoxious red and blue flashing lights glaring through my rearview mirror, and the familiar sound of the siren.  My first thought was this possibly can’t be for me yet it was.  My heart was pounding and I could feel my anxiety level rising and my hands start to feel weak and begin to shake.  But I had to try to keep it together and play it cool, I hadn’t done anything wrong, and if he smells the beer I’m doing the responsible thing.  When the officer walked up to my driver side I got the typical interrogation you see on television “License and registration” “Do you know why I pulled you over?” I handed over everything he had asked for, and confused I answered “I have no idea why you are pulling me over...”  The officer let me know I had run the stop sign, a stop sign I had somehow not noticed, a sign that I had previously stopped at a hundred times prior to tonight.  After I answered the question I saw the expression in his face change to a look of suspicion, then he asked the question “have you been drinking tonight?” Of course I answered truthfully and said I had.  He then asked me to step out of my car, and take a Breathalyzer test.  The results of the test showed a 0.12 blood alcohol content which was .04 over the legal driving limit.  Despite me feeling fine I was legally drunk.  I plead with the officer letting him know that I was doing the responsible thing by moving my car as opposed to driving home, all to no avail.