Zaccheus' friends

Sputter! Sputter! Complain! "It's not fair!!!!" . . . but it's Ukraine! There I've gotten it out of my system (maybe).

We were in a rush to get both vans inspected. Dave drove one. I drove the other to the suburbs of Kyiv. I do not even try to drive in Kyiv's crazy traffic. We arrived at 9 pm, bagged up some junk and headed out to find a 24 hr car wash because the vehicles have to be clean for inspection. We found one, the van was power-washed and chamois wiped. . . it must have been surprised to get such attention. At midnight we got back to Osikova to sack out on the mattress on the floor.

6:15 am found us getting up, washing the dash and the floor of the Volkswagen and bagging up stuff in the Mazda. We left the Volkswagen off with a friend for him to run through inspection and headed into Kyiv.

Today was the Mazda's turn at the car wash. I asked Dave if I could stay inside while the wash was being done. The attendents looked surprised but didn't say anything. I actually semi-slept through the car wash.

Then we headed to inspection. First step, all the fees have to be paid at a bank. Dave waited in the 30 person line until it was his turn and paid the fees. Then we had to carefully angle our car amid the crowded lot to the inspection lane. We got in right away. . . well and good!!!

(Here's the parking lot. One vehicle has to move a few feet before another one can move to get in a space or get out of the lot, etc.)


The inspector only found two problems, the fire extinguisher wasn't big enough and the brakes weren't strong enough . . . again a sigh of relief; there could have been lots worse things to deal with.

We walked to an auto parts store and got the extinguisher. Dave jacked up the van and tightened the brakes. After lunch hour we headed back to the inspection lane. Yes the extinguisher was what we needed. They said there was no difference on the brakes. . . . first sign of problems--they weren't even looking at the machine used to measure the brakes strength.

Since we've been to the same inspection and had problems every year with the brakes, Dave decided maybe there was something dark and hidden that he didn't know about. We got out more money from the bank and headed to a reputable mechanics' garage.

They took the brakes apart and examined them carefully. "Nothing's wrong!!!" They followed the brake lines and the emergency brake cable. "Nothing's wrong!"

Now we got the picture. We were in Ukraine. That had been the police inspector's way of asking/complaining that they didn't get a bribe.

We returned the next morning, armed with the mechanics' receipt. Although the mechanic had done nothing except loosen the brake that had been getting hot from where Dave had tightened it last year, today the brakes were pronounced "excellent!!"

We went to the final step, taking the now signed and approved check list to get our sticker. To our surprise the policeman at the window told us we had to pay for inspection. "Funny," Dave said, "that the bank missed THAT!"

We went to the long line again, were about three people from the front when Dave found a receipt that we had already paid for inspection. He checked with a couple of people. Yes that was what we needed. We stepped out of the line and went back to the policeman and handed him the receipt. "Yes, that was what we needed," he said. We filled out an application and returned it to him. He flipped through the receipts again. "Where's the SECOND inspection receipt? I sent you to pay for inspection!"

"But we already paid!!"

"But you had to use our equipment to go through a second time. If it had just been a matter of looking, like at the fire extinguisher there wouldn't have been an extra charge, so now you need to pay for inspection again."

We returned to the long line, advanced to the clerk. "What are you doing here?" she said, "you paid yesterday! It doesn't make sense." She hadn't heard of a second charge. We paid anyway. It was obviously their way of getting more money out of us since we hadn't paid the bribe.

We went back to the policeman, waited an hour for him to "quickly" get back to his desk and he duly gave us our inspection sticker.


There was a pocket on the wall for a book that has been advertised as the consumer's protection. A friend noticed that the pocket was empty. "Do you see that?" she smiled. I asked her what kind of book it was.

"A book for complaints."

Because we were expected eight hours away at a birthday party at 6 pm in the evening and it was already 11 am, we didn't bother asking for the book or trying to register a complaint.

On the way home, I decided that we were dealing with Zaccheus' friends. He, too, wangled his way into dishonest money. That's why the common people detested him and his ways. But Jesus loved him and took part in his hospitality. Maybe I should be praying for these dishonest policemen?

PS. The Volkswagen took 2 turns in the inspection lane without bribes and any further problems while we were working with the Mazda. We were done with inspections for both vans and could take our weary selves home. Thank God!


Marina, girl at far left, at her birthday party . . . 10 pm. . . . they waited for us.