The Garage Guy and Why I May be in Love with Him. (An old story - may be amusing)

I love working out at the 24 Hour Fitness in Oakland, California but it is, after all, in Oakland...parking in the cavernous, dark, public lot at the Kaiser Center freaks me out a little, but I feel my belongings and car are marginally more secure in there.

Anyway, today I just couldn't make it work...I came 10 minutes too early to get a validation, however, got a validation for 1.5 hrs a bit later, but then missed the 8am time limit by 10 minutes sticking me with a $15 parking bill.

So I go down to pay my bill at the parking machine, and - insult to injury, the friggin' machine won't take my twenty dollar bill! After trying to jam it in the machine for 5 minutes (turning the bill every which way from Sunday), I come to realize the friggin' machine doesn't want my friggin' bill!

More insult to injury - I have to go to the office to pay - so I knock on the door a big guy answers-I say, "Good morning, your parking machine won't take my money because I was 10 minutes late to late for my validation!"

"Won't take your Money?!", he said like it was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard..."Show me!", he said.

We tromp back to the machine... More shoving of the twenty dollar bill commences...after the 5th time he grunts...reaches a massive hand into his pocket and pulls out a stack of what can only be described as pink and yellow Magic Tickets. He leafs thru them and settles on a yellow one. He takes my ticket, shoves it in, then follows it up with the Magic Ticket - after the machine finally clicks to life and makes some happy humming machine sounds, it spits out my ticket which the guy and hands it back to me, and, pointing westward, sez, "The exit is over der.."

"Don't you want my $20?", I ask handing him my wicked $20.

"Nooo", he says..."I don't want to process cash!" And as he turned to walk away he said, "Enjoy your day!" over his massive shoulder.

Cash is King. And I think I love the Garage Guy!