NEW TIMES: How many parking tickets do you issue daily?
MARSHA: It really depends on the day, but the average is about 40 to 50 tickets.

NEW TIMES: What’s the lamest excuse you’ve ever gotten in the middle of printing a ticket?
MARSHA: There are so many of them, but “my mom had to pee” was probably the worst. And, that’s true. Somebody actually said that.

NEW TIMES: Do you enjoy driving your vehicle around SLO?
MARSHA: Oh, I love my scooter. It’s a fun little thing to drive around.

NEW TIMES: How many people do you think get away with expired meters?
MARSHA: Oh, that’s hard to judge, but I would say at least half. There’s no way to for us to tell if a meter has expired. We just come upon it and if it’s blinking, we write a ticket.

NEW TIMES: What was the most outrageous thing that was ever said to you?
MARSHA: “Don’t you have a heart!” and I said back, “Yes sir, I do have a heart, but I also have a job.”

NEW TIMES: What do you want people to know about the person behind the uniform?
MARSHA: I just want people to know that meter maids are cool people. Unfortunately, our job includes giving out tickets, but that doesn’t mean we’re not nice people.