By James W. Dolan

The mayor now is cracking down on persons who leave various artifacts in the street to reserve parking spots after snowstorms. He apparently has no problem with short-term protection for those who have labored long and hard digging out their cars but not after most of the snow has been removed or melted.

He is right in observing that friction over parking spaces can sometimes lead to violence. As a judge, I heard several such cases over the years. That brings me to the topic of how to protect your parking space.

I suspect the mayor is also concerned over the unsightly objects that are used by residents to protect their spaces. Lawn chairs, grills, television sets, barrels, toys, and old furniture of every kind clutter the city streets and make them dangerous and unattractive.

In an effort to bring some class to the city dweller's constant battle to park during and after snowstorms, I have established "Save-A-Spot, Inc." a non-profit organization designed to meet the needs of our harried citizens with dignity and style.

Now available in our "Inflatables Division" are life sized figures of public officials, religious leaders and celebrities. Just imagine the reaction of a potential claim jumper when he sees your space is guarded by the likes of Pope John Paul, Senator Edward Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Governor Mitt Romney, Whitey Bulger, or even the mayor himself.

How would it feel to have Ben Affleck and J-Lo or Michael Jackson out there watching your space while you sit comfortably watching television assured that nobody would dare take your spot.

For tough neighborhoods where a little more firepower may be required, we have inflatable tanks, machine gun nests, attack dogs, grizzlies, police cars and fire trucks. For those who favor a more personal touch, we provide live college students, who will camp out on your space 24/7.

You may have a personal preference and our "Research and Development Division" is equipped to design a spot-saver to your own specifications. Imagine the look on your surly neighbor's face - the one constantly complaining about your spot- when he looks out and sees a life-sized blowup of himself guarding it.

One imaginative customer ordered a life-size replica of his own car so that it looked like the space was never vacant. Another ordered an inflatable snowdrift. These inflatables are easily stored for use next year or can be used as flotation devices at the beach during the summer.

For the traditionalists, we do carry a complete line of lawn chairs, shopping carts, broken furniture, barrels and other artifacts to assist you in staking your claim. Staff of Save-A-Spot's "Government Relations Division" has asked the City Council to enact an anti-claim jumping ordinance that would permit trespassing vehicles to be towed.

Profits of "Save-A-Spot, Inc." will be used to further the science of parking space protection. We are constantly trying to develop innovative ways to address the problem. Our scientists are now conducting experiments to fashion a virtual parking space, which so far unfortunately has only been able to accommodate a virtual car.

Corporation funds also support the National Parking Museum in our nation's capitol. On display there are many of the unusual objects that have been used around the country to protect parking rights. Of particular interest is the baby carriage used by presidential candidate Howard Dean to protect his spot before he became governor of Vermont and the howitzer used by General George S. Patton.

Remember our motto: " One person's hole in the snow may be another person's parking space."

(James W. Dolan is a retired Dorchester District Court judge who now practices law at Dolan, Connly & Flaherty, 50 Redfield St., Dorchester; jdolan@dolanconnly.com)