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Jayson Gallaway

Monday, Dec 6, 1999 5:00 PM UTC1999-12-06T17:00:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

!DMViva!

All I ever needed to know about the system, I learned in Spanish-language traffic school.

!DMViva!

The letter arrived on my desk Saturday afternoon, but I didn’t get around to opening it until after midnight. It was from the Santa Clara County Municipal Court District. Although the actual text has been lost, the general tone of it went something like this:

Dear Shitbag:

The date for completion of traffic school has passed. In truth, we don’t give a fuck about the points on your record or the increase in your insurance. To us, you’re just another zit on the ass of decent society. But in a Christ-like gesture of mercy, we’re giving you one last chance. If evidence of completion of the course is not firmly in our claws by noon Monday, your fees will be forfeited, the case will be closed, the DMV will be notified of the conviction, and the next time you come to Santa Clara County, we will throw your insubordinate little ass in the cooler until you rot. Do you understand? Rot!

Fuck you,

The System

Hmmm. Traffic school on Sunday. I immediately began to work the phones and the Web for a traffic school offering driver’s improvement courses on the Lord’s Day. Once on the Net, I quickly found such a course — in Juneau, Alaska.

Shit.

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Wednesday, Nov 24, 1999 5:00 PM UTC1999-11-24T17:00:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

Diary of a Viagra fiend

In which a randy, modern-day Thomas De Quincey confesses: "Hi Ho Silver! I'm the Bone Ranger!"

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“Have you tried it?” he asks. I look up from my desk to find a middle-aged friend leaning toward me conspiratorially, his face an odd combination of deadly seriousness and abject glee. “Viagra … have you tried it?”

Christ.

Like I’m sure thousands of other people did today, I made a joke about Viagra. A co-worker walking by made an offhand comment about the droopiness of a floral arrangement on my desk, and I jokingly suggested dropping a Viagra in the vase to “perk things up” a bit. I expected to hear a courtesy chuckle as he walked away, but I didn’t. And now here he is, lurking ominously over me, essentially asking me if I have trouble getting it up.

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