Boo. Not the Casper kind.

Most days, life treats me nice. I live in a beautiful place, surrounded by people I love, who love me right back, and are there for me no matter what. I can't complain too much about the hand I've been dealt, because my life is pretty much a bowl of cherries.

But, as with everything, there are rains that ruin my parade. Most of my parades are only interrupted by tiny showers that only last long enough to wet the concrete and end with that amazing after-rain smell, but every once in a while, it'll pour. It'll pour so much that I end up hydroplaning, veering totally off course from my generally happy existence.

I know I am being melodramatic, but there is no rain worse than that of getting a ticket. Or, perhaps I should say, getting a ticket for something that seems like a ridiculous offense, because in your mind, you haven't committed an offense that offensive.

The situation was this: I was driving home past 10:30 at night, and turned right at the light on Mainstreet (which was red), the same turn I have made for a decade now. All of a sudden, after I had driven a bit of a distance, a police car was flashing its lights behind me. I stopped and cooperated with the officer, who stopped me for not coming to a complete stop at a red light, he said.

Now, I understand that a red light is a red light, but again, in my mind such a minor thing is absolutely ridiculous to award with a $68 ticket and two points on my license.

What makes it even more ridiculous is the fact that we are talking about past 10:30 at night, in the suburbs, on a Monday night. There were no cars, practically, except apparently for that one cop who happened to be bored enough to notice that I didn't come to a complete and full stop.

To add insult to injury, the way the officer marked this offense on the little summons form makes it sound like I maliciously ran a true red light, like I had just gone across an intersection, risking my life and the life of other drivers. Ridiculous, I tell you!

So, it's ridiculous, over-priced, and a total rain on my parade, this late night ticket. Boo.