Seattle is a funny place. Its a very liberal city. (Obama rocks, as they say). There are more libertairian and Minarchist discussion groups here than anywhere else in the states, they say. Ive been to these meetings, but thats not what im writing about.
On my way there, i got pulled over by a cop for speeding. I was running at 60 in a 40 mph road. The cops here are very different compared to the ones we find in India. No 'beer belly', handlebar moustache, or the feeling that your purse is gonna get flushed.
The cop walks over to the car window, and I ask him after lowering my window - 'what seems to be the problem, officer ?' all in an indian accent. He gave the 'wtf ?' look, and said ...
cop - 'You were driving at 65 mph on this road sir.. is that correct ?'
me - 'yeah, maybe, but i wasnt at that speed for long officer, just the occasional burst, you know its impossible to maintain constant .... blah... also, blah ...'
cop - 'yeah. sure. can i see you're license, sir ?'
me - (here we go) 'k, here'
cop - 'this is an indian license, sir'
me - 'really ? i mean, yeah, it is..'
cop - 'u need to apply for an international drivers license in washington state to own/drive a car, sir'
me - 'yeah, but i moved here a week ago, an blah, more blah...'
After that, he was getting pretty serious, and indicated that I might need to come 'downtown'.
me - 'what ?? why ?'
cop - 'i see that ur partner in crime isnt here with u'
me - 'huh ?'
cop - 'is ur last name coomar ??'
me - 'yeah ?'
cop - 'so wheres harold, mr coomar ?'
Thats when I got the joke. It was a good laugh, and then he said my indian license would definitely not work. I said alright, and got let off cos it was my first time. Infact, the surname Coomar hits a chord of familiarity with the people here, so much so that I do not have to spell out my name each time I make reservations at restaurants and wait at the barbers. I think i'l use it more extensively, now on...
