Security Threat

I discovered this past weekend that all of my earthly possessions fit into a 10' x 10' storage space, and to get them there, I put them in a 15' rental truck. Thinking I was so smart for remembering that no trucks are allowed on the Rock Creek Parkway, which I would normally take to get to the storage facility, I decided to take an alternate route downtown. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

I was truckin' along fine (literally), until I got to 17th and H, at which point I was promptly pulled over. And so it hit me - in my zeal to avoid the Parkway due to the no-truck rule, I neglected to realize that the alternate route down 17th to Constitution brought me within a block of the White House.

Apparently they don't take kindly to unauthorized box trucks approaching the President's diggs these days. Within seconds, two more officers descended upon the scene. Not only did I not remember that no trucks were allowed within a few block radius of the White House, but I also obliviously blew through two blocks worth of "No Trucks" signs.

They made me open up the back, and I had to suppress a giggle when the officers took a few steps back and put their hands on their guns in the second just before I rolled open the back of the truck. The little crowd that had formed got a great view of my living room furniture, which, i might add, is a very non-threatening khaki sofa and lightly colored wood coffee table ensemble.

I guess they concluded that my furniture and I weren't much of a threat. "Normally, this is a $75 fine and two points on your license," said the cop, "but it's Sunday, and I'm in a good mood, so I'm going to let you go with a warning."

And so yet another day in DC passes when I am amused by its ridiculousness.