Yesterday, in the Pearl, my baby son had a meltdown as people often do when poop is leaking from their clothes in four directions. I shuttled him back to the car and did my best to calm him on the passenger seat while I reached into the backseat to find wet wipes and a clean diaper. I was aware that my parking ticket had expired but knew I'd be leaving as soon as the diaper was changed and my son calmly in his car seat. As a wiped him with spare clothes (I was out of wipes), I noticed the parking agent walking down the street. Smugly (and wrongly) I assumed no human being could possibly turn this into an 'opportunity'. Yet this man walked over to me and asked to see my ticket, which had fallen on the floor. I told him just a second while I fastened the diaper, then I gave it to him. In a cartoon-style monotone he informed me that my ticket had expired. I asked him if he noticed what was happening in front of him and even gestured to the crying baby and the poop on my hand and suggested that he could help me by taking some of my coins and getting me a new ticket. He backed away to look at my license and began entering data into his device, then handed me a ticket and walked away. I'm appalled that enforcing the rules and generating a little revenue trumps doing what's clearly 'right' on a basic human level. Issuing me a ticket under such circumstances seemed nearly hateful on the part of this man and perhaps even the company he works for.