Why do people think that turning their hazard lights on while parked in a handicapped parking spot is OK? I see people do it all the time -- and I've even had the great experience (back in my college days) of being behind someone at the UT Parking Office while she bitched and moaned about getting a ticket because she was illegally parked in a handicapped parking spot. "But I was only parked in the spot for less than 5 minutes while I ran into the dorm to grab my books...didn't the little parking guy see that I had my flashers on? You people are such Nazis!"



I don't know how much her citation was for, but I wished that they would have doubled it just because her excuse was so lame -- and because she's obviously an idiot.

Saturday morning Selina and I decided to see what the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market was all about. We picked up some fresh bread, some fresh brocolli, a small bottle of Round Rock honey, a dozen farm eggs -- and a bag of pecans from Waelder, Texas. Hot damn! It was a little funny, because we had no idea that the pecans were from Waelder until Selina looked at the label on the bag while I was paying the guy at the stand. Selina grabbed my arm and said, "Ryan, these pecans are from Waelder!".

He made a comment that it was rare to come across someone who knew about Waelder. I mentioned that I was originally from Waelder and he immediately launched into a conversation about how much he disliked the fact that he had to pay taxes for the new school.

For those of you who may not know, I wrote a "Letter to the Editor" to the local newspaper back in April of 2007 in response to some comments and advertisements made by members of an anti-bond organization that called itself the Association for the Improvement of the WISD. Don't be fooled by the name -- their idea of improving the school district was to close the high school down. I shocked the AIWISD so badly with my response that their chairman took out a half page ad in the newspaper addressed specifically to me! Many people in Waelder credit this (and a series of political advertisements and yard signs that I purchased) for firing up the community and tipping the scales in favor of the school bond.

But anyway, back to the pecan stand at the Farmer's Market. I let the poor guy vent about the bond issue -- I hear it's very therapeutic to vent -- and I only corrected him once when he said that he wasn't sure when they were ever going to finish the buildings (the high school was completed back in 2008 and the gym just opened in January). As much as I would have loved to have finished the conversation off by telling him that it was nice meeting him and, oh by the way, my name is Ryan Tovar, I saw no point in doing so and just wished him a nice day and thanked him for the pecans (which were delicious).

Like they say, it's a small world.