So my luck with the police continues.
I didn’t know you were supposed to buy a ticket for the train going from the LAX to Norwalk. There’s no ticket stations like the BART and I saw no signs telling me to buy tickets. So on Wednsday the 23rd when I flew to LA at 6:30 AM in the morning, took the Greenline to the train, got off at Norwalk and saw a cop checking for tickets, I knew I was screwed.
The African American Sheriff asked me where’s my ticket. I didn’t have one, because I never knew. He asked if that makes sense, if I can just ride in a public transportation for free. I said I assumed because there were no stations and the G bus to the train was free. The bus is free, he said, but the train isn’t.
I just happened to wear my University of California Berkeley sweater. He asked if I go to school, and proceeded to ask me my major, my goals after college, and if I am visiting family for Thanksgiving. He then asked, so what do you think I should do. I said I don’t know if this warrants for an arrest (he then said no it doesn’t) but that I’m perfectly willing to buy a ticket and then show it to him for the same price it would cost for LAX to Norwalk. He then asked well what would you do if our roles were reversed. I said well if I were you and you were me, I would have you go buy a ticket and show it to you. He said yeah, I could do that, or I could write you a ticket for not having a ticket.
Or, he says, I could give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t know, and let you go off with a warning so you know you have to buy a ticket next time you ride the train. He then asked if it was ok for him to do that. I said, of course, I would definitely know I need to buy a ticket for the train next time. He told me to stay in school, to study hard, and to have a Happy Thanksgiving. I told him thanks, and took the escalator up to wait for my dad to pick me up.
This is the 4th time that my guardian angel has looked after me.
-Persuaded a cop at Bank of America to not write us a parking ticket
-Got pulled over for a warning for wearing headphones covering both my ears and not obeying the stop signs on my bike.
-Got away with driving 105 MPH in Colorado (Thanksgiving of 04)