Once in a while something happens – something so ridiculous, so ludicrous, so astounding – that gives a person cause to crinkle her forehead and ask, “Are you serious?”

A moving truck, on the road outside a home on Cabin Creek Drive, received a $30 ticket earlier this week for parking on the wrong side of the street.

The driver said he had to park that way because the truck’s contents made the door on the opposite side unaccessible.

Yes, the same rules apply to everyone, but giving a parking ticket to a moving truck outside someone’s home is the same as a red light camera – no common sense is applied.

And no, it wasn’t the homeowner that was ticketed, but imagine moving away from Jasper after how ever many years, only to have your moving company fined on your way out of town. Are you serious?

Rumours float around about a municipal employee facing reprimand for uttering four words to a local newspaper. Are you serious?

The Jan. 9 issue of the municipality’s outreach newsletter The Skinny featured photographs of snowboarders doing tricks on the fences in Centennial Park in Jasper.

A reader and taxpayer scribed a Bird Flip (a negative message), which appeared in the following issue, to express concern about the images. “With the Municipality funding the skinny I cannot believe that you would feature a photo shoot that misuses the property of the hand that funds you,” he wrote.

His response from the editor of that publication? A big, bold, “Are you serious?”

But yes, the writer was serious. It’s nice to know how a legitimate comment from the public about a municipally-funded initiative is handled.

It seems the statement in question is uttered when spectators can’t find much else to say. They may be dumbfounded or confused by what’s gone on.

Or perhaps, when facing criticism, they simply don’t have much of an argument. “Are you serious” falls into the same category as “I know you are but what am I?” and “I’m rubber, you’re glue.”

But have no fear reader, you are not alone. Know that each time you see, hear, or read something utterly bizarre or outlandish, that at any given time in Jasper there’s likely someone else shaking their head and asking, “Are you serious?”