I visited your fine city and spent a half day of shopping, dropping about $500 on various items around town. I decided to stop off for a bite to eat and a beverage downtown after feeding the meter with all the change in my pocket.

When I walked out of the restaurant, I figured I had a minute or two left and came out and found a big, fat parking ticket. Apparently, I was off by a couple of minutes. So, as an award for spending my hard-earned vacation dollars, I received a $12 ticket.

Apparently, a city that depends on the tourist dollar for a significant portion of its income feels it must put an additional squeeze on the tourist by awarding them with an additional $12 to $48 fine – not to mention threat of impoundment of the vehicle.

So, I felt it was only fair to return the favor and returned every item that I purchased in your fine town and have decided defer any further purchases within the city limits of Durango. The city can use the $12 fine for some worthwhile purpose and rest assured the only sites I will be seeing in the city limits of Durango will be the city-limits sign in my rearview mirror.

By the way, the deferred purchases I was going to make were all in downtown establishments and probably would have run into several thousands of dollars. The city of Durango can feel free to choke on the check.

John Moran

Fort Collins