Confessional

Since returning from St. Louis I have discovered that I'm a criminal. A transgressor against society. A law-breaker. And I just can't stop!

I have let my tags expire. And not by just a little bit either. The plates on our van expired in March.

What happened was I thought my car's tags were due to be updated in July. Last year, I knew I got the two-year tags for one of our vehicles, and I thought it was the van. But I was wrong.

What's really funny, or perhaps pathetic, is that even though I have driven care-free for three months, now that I know I'm breaking the law I feel like I am a paranoid mess every time I get in the van. I know the cops know I'm out there, and I secretly debate the pros and cons of driving on side streets-- I think I can blend into traffic more on the big streets, but then that's also where I'm more likely to see the police.

I should be able to get the vehicle legal with my next check, but we are just too broke for me to do it before then. Yes, every year I pay our property taxes when I need the new tags. This is maybe not the best system.

It would be easy for me to break off into a diatribe about how unfair it is that we should have to pay property taxes at all. Haven't we already paid taxes on our cars? But, out of guilt, I digress.

This time 'round I am going to have to pay taxes on three vehicles. The car we bought my step-son when he turned 16 has been broken down for a year now.

I'm trying to sell that car now, and have placed an add in the paper (CFP, of course). $250 or best offer. If I would have been smart, I would have sold the thing before January 1. I held onto it, thinking we might fix it with an unexpected $1,700 windfall. That dream has died.

If I sell it this week, just maybe, I can pay the taxes on it.

I guess I could go ahead and get my state inspection over with. I'm sure I will only have to go to four or five places to find a mechanic who has the time to give me one. I would like to go on and on about that, too. But, who wants to hear about a criminal's problems?