No Parking On The Dance Floor (Or Certainly Not At Dunkin' Donuts)

Saturday nights are generally the climactic event of the week, gig wise.  This past Saturday was the 2nd annual Brookhaven Beer Festival.  Martay is the in-town resident with an ear to the ground for happenings such as this.  He was presented with an opportunity to play after the festival at one of the area bars, a relatively upscale chain of sorts known as Hudson Grille.  Martay talked the management into having a 3-piece band in lieu of a solo performance.  Brent and I were available - who knew?  Not often that I'm without something else on a Saturday, so it worked out all around.  The crowd was thick.  Basketball fans and festival attendees thwarted the expansive joint.  We were on the side patio in the midst of it all.  It was a fun gig, with all the usual shenanagans.  We played our typcial variety of tunes: Crazy (Gnarls Barkley), Family Tradition (Hank Jr.), Your Love (The Outfield), Whole Lotta Love (Zep).  Bill Maher (no, not that Bill Maher) brought his mic and sang with us when Martay beckoned him back to the stage.  Bill can sing Zeppelin better than anybody I've ever played with.  Uncanny.  Some girl got up and sang Hit Me With Your Best Shot and a few others that weren't particularly impressive.  The crowd really came alive as we were finishing.  Thus began a great TIP JAR FILLING SESSION.  We really worked it and for the 3 of us, we got $180 to split.  Big money there!  Plus the base pay...

The long and short of it was that my car was towed sometime during the first set.  I was parked nearby, actually right behind the Hudson Grille where a Dunkin' Donuts sits.  The space I was in was not in front of the donut shop; it was one of three parallel parking spots running in the same direction as the street.  No signs visible from ANYWHERE in the lot about the parking policy or towing risk involved.  I actually surveyed the scene as I was leaving my vehicle - again, no signs.  Later, I walked over to see the empty spots and my heart sank.  I learned the the wrecker service would be open at 7 am and that the cost would be $125.  Complicated, as I had a brunch gig the next morning and Sabina was to be taking Capt. Piggy for obedience training.  Had to leave my rig on my cart at the venue and catch a ride with Martay, who graciously took me home in the very wee hours.  Shane attempted to contact the manager and possibly get my fee waived or at least split with HG paying the other half.  Never did hear anything else about that.  Once the wrecking service has the info in its system, there's not much hope.  Small claims court?  Not certain if it's worth the effort.  Perhaps it is, but at what cost of time and money, not to mention the inconvenience that's already occurred and would not be compensated anyway?  The moral of the story is two-fold: If there's an empty parking space or two, perhaps that should be a reg flag; also, Krispy Kreme makes a much better product!

Parallel parking spots located just behind the Hudson Grille (note the lighted sign on the building straight ahead).
One would think (incorrectly) that these spots were "overflow" parking for that establishment.

No "towing enforced" signs in sight.

This lone sign is visible from the street.  The parallel spot that I was in is behind it.  As you might see from the above pictures, there are no other signs indicating the parking regulations of the lot.  Nice work guys.  Probably a lot more money in this racket versus selling donuts.