Review: It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2012
I hate to admit it, but one of my favorite TV shows is "Parking Wars" on A&E.; Yes, I revel in poor suckers having their illegally parked cars ticketed, booted, or towed. I'm sorry, I can't help it. So when author Ben Friedrich asked if I would review his book about his experiences working on a parking enforcement unit, I had to say yes.The author told a fascinating story of going first into firefighting, but it was only a seasonal job; to earn more, he applied with several police departments. To bide his time while waiting to be accepted, he took a fulltime job with the county parking enforcement department. It didn't take long before Friedrich had had enough nasty incidents from irate drivers that he started wearing the bulletproof and stab-proof vest he had been issued. He learned by experience when to issue a ticket and when to just walk away from a dangerous situation. But he was good - very good - issuing more than a thousand citations in his first six months on the job.Eventually, the stresses of the job, plus a couple of failed romances, caused him to become physically and emotionally ill. He came to believe that parking enforcement was stealing his soul. Something had to give, but what would it be?As an unexpected bonus, the book includes an appendix with a detailed guide for fighting a parking ticket.I can highly recommend Mr. Friedrich's book to anyone, whether you've ever gotten a parking ticket or not. It's a compelling look at the dirty job of parking enforcement and the people who do it.