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April 2007
My search for a new Duluth hangout: Part I
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I decided to try something different last week.
My watering hole had closed for good, taxes were due, and my birthday is in April - which means car tags and an emissions inspection - and this year my driver’s license has to be renewed.
So I decided to go to Barnes & Noble on pleasant Hill Road near Satellite Boulevard in Duluth. A friend of mine had work to do for classes and I thought it would be neat to browse over some books, drink some coffee, and help her edit some answers. I am a writer, after all (though some of you may question that.)
I found out only recently that Barnes & Noble has a place to serve coffee, kind of like Starbucks. I knew, of course, that they sold books.
I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t had much of a chance to read lately. I have been so busy getting back into the swing of things after my stroke — going back to work, getting settled in back home — that I haven’t really ventured out into the world.
It was a nice change of pace. My friend brought her laptop computer and with wireless service she was able to access the Internet.
I don’t know much about the technology. I got a cell phone for Christmas — my first one, as I wrote in a previous blog — but I only know how to answer it and hang up. There is a work table in the coffee shop where you can set up your laptop, spread out your books or your notes, and look at the people.
The coffee was good. I was a little surprised at how expensive it was. I don’t usually go out to get coffee. I either make it at home or drink it at work. I can imagine that all of you must be rolling your eyes now, but I was, after all, looking for a new experience, and it was for me.
There were some books in the coffee area, but I was afraid that I might spill coffee on them and end up having to buy some book written by a Food Network chef or a pop psychologist. They did have some magazines spread out there, but none were really to my liking, so I was glad to have work to do.
I talked to a friend of mine the next day about the experience. She said that she likes to go there often, drink tea, read books and sit on the sofas there. I told her that I didn’t know you could do that. She just rolled her eyes at me and said, “Geez, Bill, you need to get out more.” I told her that I would try it again.
Armed with this new information, perhaps I will be able to fully enjoy the experience the next time I go.
You can see that I need some assistance. What are some fun things that you do around town to spend a leisurely afternoon or evening?
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Should I have called police in a case involving a suspected illegal immigrant?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I had a fender bender last week.
The other guy didn’t see me, and he merged into the right side of my car on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Duluth, just before Northwoods Lake Apartments.
My first thought was about how much of a pain in the neck this was going to be. Little did I realize…
The guy got out of his car, went to inspect my damage, then waited for me to get out. “I’ll give you $100 for the damage,” were the first words out of his mouth. He had a Spanish accent. Soon he was up to $200, this before I could look at my car. I knew that wasn’t going to be enough. He didn’t want me to call police. He kept saying “God will bless you. Please sir,” as he put his arm around my shoulder.
He was nice, friendly, non-threatening. I suspected, though, that he was in this country illegally.
I called the city of Duluth Police Department to report the accident. My “friend” got a ticket for not having a driver’s license and for failure to maintain lane. He had a Mexican consular card, which is issued by Mexico to identify him as a citizen, and proof of insurance. I called my insurance company, which began to process the claim, and that’s where we stand right now.
I asked Kevin Mooney, a defense lawyer who has experience with traffic violations, what kind of problems my “friend” might have.
Mooney tells me that only the federal government can investigate immigration status, not state, county or local police. Maj. Don Woodruff, Duluth police spokesman, confirmed that.
(This would explain why I didn’t hear the officer ask the driver any immigration-related questions.)
Not having a driver’s license is a simple misdemeanor. All misdemeanor traffic violations carry a maximum one year in jail and a maximum $1000 fine, Mooney said, but added that, in his experience, a fine for an accident without injury is pretty standard.
My “friend” would have spent at least 48 hours in jail had he been driving on a suspended license, but not having a driver’s license at all is little more than a fine. Some counties in the state of Georgia will not let you get a car tag without a driver’s license. Gwinnett is not one of those counties, Mooney said.
I called my mom when I got into the office to let her know what happened and that I was all right. She sighed. “Were you tempted not to call the police?” she asked.
“I hated to do it. He seemed like a nice guy. But I’m still making payments on the car, and it’s illegal not to call them.”
“Isn’t it sad,” she said, “that you feel guilty for doing nothing wrong?”
I felt that way at first. Any other time would have been no problem. Call the insurance company, fix the car, and move on.
If he was illegal, and I don’t know whether or not he was, it creates a dilemma. This is a hazard of illegal immigration.
Somebody has to decide whether or not to deny health care to a child whose parents are here illegally. Somebody has to decide whether or not to teach English to a child whose parents don’t have green cards. And somebody, like me, has to feel bad for starting a world of problems over a simple accident.
After learning about the laws (or lack thereof) I felt angry with him for putting me in this situation. It isn’t easy to say “He has no one to blame but himself.” But if he is here illegally, that’s what I’d say.
Now I wonder why I, as a citizen, try so hard to do things by the book when it can be so easy for others who aren’t to get away with so much.
How do you feel? Did I do the right thing? Am I wrong to feel bad?
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Don’t fall victim to title loan bloodsuckers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My roommate recently came to me and told me something that nearly made my heart sink.
“Dude, I almost got one of those title loans.”
Titled car loans are short-term, high interest loans that use a borrower’s car title as collateral. They produce fast cash with little hassle. However, borrowers often do not understand the ultimate price of their title loan - which is cryptically hidden in contracts with confusing financial language.
According to georgiawatch.org, a consumer affairs watch dog that monitors business practice that affects Georgians, “when borrowers cannot keep up with payments on the triple-digit interest common in the business, title lenders take possession of borrowers’ cars - oftentimes their only transportation to work, the grocery store and doctors’ offices.”
My roommate had been out of work for a couple of months. He’d been through the Christmas holidays, had the normal bills to pay — including car insurance — and he was having a difficult time getting his feet back on the ground. He found himself in a position similar to those that get targeted by these “financial institutions.” He was desperate.
He owned a car, and he thought that using this as collateral would be an easy way to catch up on bills and payments until things got back to normal.
The AJC did a series of articles a couple of years ago — 2005, to be exact — about how people had lost their cars to the repo man because they got nailed by these loans. Fortunately, I remembered a lot of these stories and related them to my roommate.
“Man, how can these people get away with that,” he asked when I was done.
“Landowners had to make money off of the sharecroppers. We’ve swapped plows and horses for cars. The landlords got rid of their overalls and shotguns and replaced them with suits and lawyers,” I told him.
He had other options. He had his parents. He had me. There was no way I was going to let him fall into bed with these leeches.
He has since found gainful employment, doing work that he really enjoys. He’s getting back on its feet, much sooner now than he would have if he had taken that loan.
I feel bad for those people who don’t have other options like he does. I feel bad that there are bloodsuckers who prey every day for those people who don’t have other options. A fair profit is one thing. Legalized robbery is an entirely different matter.
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