Apologies to Rick Shangle for borrowing his phrase. He’s written a book on the nature of systems. Lock in!

The particular system I’d like to address right now is the completed circle of finance in the District. It works like this: I park in front of my bank (because I’m kind of anal and have been burned before in this arena, you better believe I checked) at 6:28 pm tonight.

General parking is not permitted before 6:30 pm, so it was with great reluctance that I entered my bank to make a withdrawal of $100 knowing full well that I was in violation of the rules.

But gee, there was already a whole line of cars, and while I was standing outside my Honda fretting about this, frat boys were blazing up in their SUVs, brazenly and authoritatively parking on the same street. No problem, brah!

I came back to my car at about 6:35 pm, $100 burning a hole in my pocket, the night pregnant with possibility, to find a pink ticket in my new windshield wiper (don’t even ask about that one) for… can you guess it? $100.

The nature of systems.