DUIs, Lindsay Lohan...and Sympathy

Oh boo hoo, Lindsay Lohan's now serving her jail sentence for violating the terms of her DUI. (Not to mention other things.)  You can get the dish on her jail cell, see photos of her and hear about her last tweeting efforts. (No internet or tweeting allowed from now on!)


I just feel terribly sorry for her.
Actually, I don't.

   A much-loved person got busted for a DUI. She wasn't actually driving, but in her state, being behind the wheel in the parking lot, with keys inserted, means the legal equivalent of roaring down the highway. (She was sleeping it off, and the night was cold.)
   She did something stupid, and she has paid for it, over and over and over. 'Blows' to determine whether she was drinking -- daily, then twice a week for literally years. Weekly counseling sessions. Meetings with the parole officer. No chance to visit out of state. Even house arrest for a month. And every one of these items had to be paid for out of her pocket.
   It's now been more than two years. After complying with every single thing she was required to, she is finally close enough to see the end of probation. Provided she pays $200-plus for more court fees, plus $100 and 40 hours of community service, that is. (Not to mention the $150 or so she'll pay every month for a 'blow-and-start' device on her car. We won't even talk about the extra insurance she'll be paying for years.) 
   Thousands of dollars. Hundreds of hours. Opportunities lost. All because of one evening and too many drinks. Was it worth it? She's the first to say -- of course not.
    My young friend did not have the time, money and resources Ms. Lohan had. She definitely did not get the second chances, extensions and other 'slaps on the hand' Ms. Lohan did. (And ignored or wasted.) Yet my friend decided, early on, that she would learn from her mistake, and clear her record.

And now Lindsay has a 90-day sentence staring her in the face. I hope they make her serve every single day of it. It may be the best wake-up call she will ever have.