The injection of several thousand extra motor vehicles into the meandering laneways of a seaside fishing village produces, understandably, some unforeseen consequences. And so it was during the annual labor day weekend folk festival hosted by Port Fairy, when, sometime Sunday afternoon, I encountered what I believed at the time to be the height of arrogance amongst local property owners. Earlier that morning I had availed myself of a citizen's nature strip to rest my trusty 1992 Falcon (recently diagnosed with a possible cracked head subject to further scans). Returning later in the day to load in my equipment and make an exit, I became increasingly aware of a voice from the depths of an adjacent dwelling. The demand for "$20 in the box for parking " left me visibly shaken, but with enough control of my faculties to respond with less than enthusiastic "no worries mate" before speeding off.
As the day wore on I recounted the tale to anyone who would listen long enough, railing against the audacity and front of people who had the nerve to demand unauthorised parking fees. The incident was even drawn to the attention of a visiting journalist who later asked me to identify the house involved.
On Monday afternoon I entered a local hotel to be greeted by the regular barman, who happened to know me from previous encounters. It was only when he commented that he hadn't found $20 in his letter box that I realised that the person who stood before me was the character I had disparaged for 24 hours. It was also obvious that many regular clients in the bar were aware of the encounter and were suitably amused by it.
There seemed nothing left but to order a strong pineapple juice and thank the Lord I had not, in fact, parted with the $20.
