Man's 'heart sank' after finding parking ticket on car but his day got '20x better' when he took a closer look
Everyone fights battles we often know nothing about. If a little action from our part can help someone, we shouldn’t hesitate. Sometimes, overlooking certain things and letting them slip for the sake of one’s well-being can be an impactful way to help. A man who goes by u/Vewy_nice on Reddit shared a heartwarming experience he had with a parking ticket. While the latter is often connected to a negative experience, this man’s parking ticket landed him a day “20x better,” thanks to the unexpected kindness of the officer. The post consisted of a picture of a parked car and a note.
The man found himself in a dilemma with his borrowed vehicle that wouldn’t start. Being helpless as he had to go to work, the only thing he could do was request the officer not to issue a parking ticket. While that’s a long shot, the man gave it a try by leaving a note on his windshield explaining his situation. In a comment, the man revealed that the note read, “My vehicle (with a resident permit) is in the shop for repairs so I borrowed this vehicle. It won't start and I have to take the bus to work. I can't do anything about this until after work. It'd be really cool if you didn't give me a parking ticket.” Unfortunately, the man returned to find a parking ticket in his car but there’s more.
“My heart sank a bit when I saw the little slip flapping away on the walk up to my apartment after work,” he noted. However, on closer observation, he realized that it was not a disappointing ticket. “My day got 20x better when I actually looked at the ticket!” he remarked. On closer inspection, the ticket had no charges or violations mentioned but instead had a smiley face drawn and left on the windshield. Sharing a plausible theory, u/Limepirate revealed, “They likely put the ticket with a smiley on it so no other ticketer would come by, seeing that it was already dealt with.” The unknown officer not only avoided putting a ticket on the man’s car but also ensured that no one else got the chance to do the same.
Being considerate of the man’s plight, the stranger helped him more than he thought and turned his day around with the twist of a parking ticket. “The best parking ticket I've ever received,” the man wrote in the caption of his post. Several people were shocked but had their hearts melting over the kindness of the angel of an officer. u/RickyDiezal wrote, “This is the most wholesome thing I've ever seen come out of Manchester.” u/lynn0018 added, “I love knowing the owner would have been initially pissed, seeing that ticket from afar. Classy move from the parking bishop.” u/KoreaRiceBox exclaimed, “They just gave you a blank copy with a smiley face. My love for parking meter officers just grew a little.”