We’ve all seen — in the movies or, worse, in person — the power-tripping parking meter person who writes you a ticket even when you’re begging to get in the car and drive away. Well, I just had an experience that shows it doesn’t always have to be that way.

My pal Hamgravy and I were standing by our cars on the corner of Zack and Florida in Tampa, yapping about this and that. Our parking meters had run out. Suddenly, up barrels a white compact car with “Public Works” on the side and speed-parallel-parks right in front of us. We quickly made the move to our rides. A guy jumped out of the Public Works car. Immediately, we started pleading for a break. “Our meters are up, but can we just get in and drive away right now?” I asked him.

This is how he responded: “It’s OK. I’ve got to check out that Explorer across the street. No hurry. Finish your conversation.”

Huh? … Uh, thanks.

We wrapped up our chat and drove off. Thought I’d pass along a good story about meter people for a change.

This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2008.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...