Article December 25, 1989 Issue

Removing the "clamps" of sickness and sin

What can we do when sickness or sin clamps down on us? There's a way to be free—through God's liberating law.

Margaret M. Seeley

A Few years ago a new penalty for motorists who committed parking offenses was introduced in the capital city where I lived. It is now widely used and is known in my country as a wheel clamp. (In the United States it's called the "Denver boot" or just "the boot.") When a parking law is broken, a heavy metal disc is locked on to one of the wheels of the offending vehicle, and a substantial fine has to be paid before the car can be driven away.

But what would happen if the driver knew for a fact that the car had not been illegally parked? He or she would probably be very indignant and would take immediate steps to prove that no law had been broken.

This happened to a friend of mine. For some time she had had permission to park her car off the street alongside the building where she worked. Then one day she came out to find that a wheel clamp had been fixed to her car. Knowing she had not broken any law, she lost no time in finding out how she could protest her innocence. A quick telephone call provided her with a special number to ring. Very soon the clamp was unlocked, and she was free to drive off without having to pay any fine.

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