There’s nothing as irritating to a vehicle owner as a parking ticket. Sometimes we can’t just help leaving our car but then we get a parking ticket, and it’s annoying. One woman left her car behind in a parking lot of a bar and got a surprise on her windshield when she came to pick up the vehicle the next day. And what the note said quickly went viral.
16. Shelly Harrison
Canadian Shelly Harrison was going through a rough patch in her life. She and her husband were struggling to make ends meet. She had gone through the death of her father and several parking tickets. Their finances weren’t the best and her husband had more bad news.
15. Bad News
Shelly had already faced an eviction and her husband added to the trouble with the news that he was being let go. To top it off, it was their anniversary and they didn’t think they could even afford to celebrate. They decided to go anyway.
14. Anniversary Night
Since they were facing the loss of an income, they decided to have one last hurrah and celebrate their anniversary at Original Joe’s restaurant located in Sherwood Park, Alberta. For one night, they wouldn’t worry and they would enjoy themselves. Soon they realized they may have had a little to much to drink.
13. Risking a Ticket
Shelly knew that they shouldn’t drive home in their condition. She decided to leave the car in the parking lt and nt risk getting in a wreck. But then again, would she get another parking ticket? If she did, it would be just another bill atop the financial burden she was feeling.
12. Making the Decision
Shelly decided they should leave their car anyhow. “You don’t have to be drunk to be impaired,” she told the Today show. “I wasn’t some crazy drunk lady, but I definitely had no business driving.” It was the smart and safe choice even if they had to wait a while for an Uber, it was better than getting in an accident. What would happen to their car in the meantime?
11. Bad Weather
Shelly decided she would return to the parking lot and pick up the car the next day but soon, she realized that wouldn’t be possible. The weather was about make it hard to get around as a snowstorm blew in town. The roads were too dangerous and Shelly worried about driving in the conditions.
10. Dreading a Ticket
She thought that the restaurant would surely be annoyed and had called the police to ticket her vehicle. Thinking of yet parking ticket made her feel sick but she had no choice but to wait out the storm. Nearly 48 hours later, she was finally able to return to the car.
9. A Buried Car
First, she had to clean off the car as it was buried under snow and ice. Finally, she saw the windshield and noticed something pinned underneath the wiper blades. She sighed at the idea of another parking ticket but then take a closer look.
8. An Angry Note?
The bar was surely angry about her leaving her car and blocking a parking spot for other customers, she figured. Hopefully the fine wouldn’t be too much. She figured that the note was from the bar and picked it up to read it.
7. What it Said
The note was on the restaurant’s letterhead and was a note from the management. Only they weren’t angry about her leaving the car. They were congratulating her. “I’m not sure if you had consumed alcohol at our restaurant or not,” the note read. “But we wanted to thank you for not drinking and driving.” But that wasn’t all.
6. A Gift
The note also had an enclosure, a voucher for 1 LB of Original Joe’s chicken wings. It closed with “Life is valuable, have a great weekend.” Shelly was struck by the note and left speechless. She decided to share it with social media.
5. Sharing the Note
Managing partner Jay McLean Original Joe’s had written the letter and she wanted things t know how considerate his note was. She posted it on Facebook. “Wow, I am so impressed,” she wrote, attaching a picture of the note. The story went viral.
4. Going Viral
Shelly’s post quickly was shared more than 4,000 times. She was thrilled as she thought there restaurants could decide t d the same thing to discourage drunk driving. Reacting to her pst was mixed.
3. Negative Comments
Some comments thought it was a promotional play by MacLean to advertise his restaurant, but he said that he began doing it after another bar did the same thing. He said that with Sherwood Park lacking public transit, it made sense. Shelly did a follow-up post to shutdown the haters.
2. Defending Jay
Writing about the manager’s gesture, she said, “ I can’t believe that some people actually are accusing him of taking advantage of the situation. He’s been doing it for over a year, with no expectations. Just being a good guy.”
1. Drunk Driving Statistics
Drunk driving in a serious problem. MADD Canada, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, reports that up to 4 Canadians are killed each day on average. Little efforts like leaving your car and taking alternative transportation can help ensure that you arrive safely.