"I'm Parked Illegally"

Parking space is a rare beast in certain parts of Montreal. Sometimes, you'll get lucky and nab a space in the four seconds before someone else comes along, and other times you need to use more creative measures.

"I parked in the alley. Is that okay?" Probably not okay, but as long as the man giving out parking tickets isn't around, no one really cares. However, the parking ticket men know what areas to patrol for illegal parking, and are never too far from the pharmacy, where they have managed to make a few pretty pennies by ticketing multiple cars.

This forces people to be fast when they run in to the pharmacy and are parked illegally outside. The parking ticket man might not be fast enough to stop them if they manage to run in, grab what they need and run out of the store before you have the chance to blink.

It's pretty easy to tell who is illegally parked. They usually run in, don't stop to talk to anyone, and have a pained expression on their face that implies either they are about to get a parking ticket, or they desperately need to take a dump.

The client then pays for their item, without making eye contact and then proceed to drum their fingers impatiently on the counter while the debit machine processes their card. Of course, when a person is in a rush, the machine takes forever to process the transaction, and the end result is divots left in the counter from the nails of an impatient client.

The client then runs back outside, either to the safety of their parked car, or to scream at the man who is writing up a ticket. If a television show ever pops up about parking ticket men, I am certain that some of the fights I have witnessed in front of the pharmacy would be the show's highlights. It has everything that a great show needs: drama, anger, extravagant hand gestures (and some not-so-extravagant ones), and lots of swearing to be censored before the show hits the air.