Downtown businesses enjoyed an unexpected boost to their Black Friday foot traffic when Parking Meter #27—normally a strict guardian of the town’s nickel-based discipline—unilaterally stopped accepting coins and began flashing the message “YOU’RE GOOD” to every vehicle that approached.
The incident began shortly after 6:40 a.m., when bleary-eyed bargain hunter Harold Brimley attempted to feed the meter three quarters “as a show of character.” Witnesses say the machine rejected each coin with growing intensity, culminating in what Brimley described as “a metallic sigh that captured the entire spirit of holiday fatigue.”
Word traveled up the block faster than a doorbuster rumor. By 7 a.m., cars were lined bumper-to-bumper, their drivers stepping out with the wary optimism of people who believe—deep down—that free parking is the truest miracle of the season. The meter greeted each vehicle with its steady message of absolution, accompanied by a warm beep described by multiple shoppers as “soft encouragement to go buy something unnecessary.”
Parking Enforcement Officer Deb Lang arrived to restore order but was rebuffed immediately. When she attempted a manual override, the meter displayed “NOT TODAY, DEBORAH — IT’S BLACK FRIDAY,” prompting Lang to retreat and make a note in her logbook under “events requiring future reflection.”
City technicians soon arrived with toolkits and caffeine, only to find the meter preaching economic restraint with messages such as “CAPITALISM CAN WAIT” and “LET THEM PARK, LET THEM SHOP.” One technician reported the device briefly warmed under his hand “like it was basking in its own moral clarity.”
The rebellion ended at 9:12 a.m., when the meter beeped twice, accepted a single dime, and resumed normal operations as though nothing had occurred. Lang described its demeanor afterward as “professionally neutral but vaguely smug.”
The city estimates a revenue loss of $14.75 during the amnesty window, a figure officials characterized as “the cost of Black Friday joy.”
Drivers are reminded that, despite Meter #27’s brief foray into seasonal benevolence, regular parking rules remain in effect—unless, of course, the spirit of the holidays stirs the infrastructure once again.
