Saved by a Smart Mouthed Child

Sometimes when I managed to get out of a ticket on the side of the road I wasn't alone and actually the ones with me could be credited with actually having the comment that saved Dear Mom from a ticket. Such was this time.

Senerio #3: The side of the road between Boys' Ranch and Dalhart one Saturday night after being in Amarillo with the girls and Robert all day. Lights flash.

Officer: Evening folks. Where are you headed?

Me: (nervous laugh) Home. Long day.

Officer: Ma'am I need to see your license and proof of insurance. You do realize you were going over the posted limit? (At this point he talks with his partner who had walked up on passenger side of the car.) Also ma'am did you realize you license tag has expired?

Me: (astonished) What? (Whipping around to look at the girls in the back seat. Highway parolman now totally forgotten.) Carrie I told you to put the sticker on the plate. Why didn't you do it?

Carrie: Yea, Mom, blame the kid.

Robert: Where is the sticker?

Me: In the glove box is where I put it. Carrie is it still there?

(Robert looks in the glove box, retrieves the sticker and exits the car.)

Officer: (stifling a smile or was that a laugh) Ma'am I'm just going to step back to my car. Wait here.

Officer: (back at my window) Ma'am I need you to slow down for the rest of your trip to keep this family safe. This is just a warning, please sign and slow down.

Our family was evidently highly amusing to this patrolman or this was the first time he had seen anything quite like the display of Mom, smart mouthed child and calm Dad.

I Interrup the Stories to Bring You .....

Wordless Wednesday

Miss A and Mr. B say *cheese* for the camera.

An Unusual Emergency

Before he joined the narc unit and then retired my brother-in-law was a highway patrolman. He once told me that if you can ever give a hi-po an original reason for speeding you wouldn't get a ticket. I never tried to come with anything original, I just told the truth, but I did leave a few patrol men chuckling and a warning in my hand more than once.

Scenario #2. We lived in Texline, a small rural community in the northwest corner of Texas. The closest *big* town with a decent size grocery store was thirty miles away. One day after work I was headed there to buy groceries and get home before tip off time of the basketball game. Lights flash and I pull over.

Officer: (a short round man) Ma'am I need to see your license and proof of insurance. (Pause as I gather things and hand them to him.) Is there an emergency that warrants your speeding?

Me: Well, I don't know about you but my family considers it an emergency. You see I'm on the way to buy groceries because there is no food in the house and they think I should fix supper tonight.

Officer: Well, I can understand that. I'll be right back.

(He walks away and returns grinning a few minutes later.)

Officer: Ma'am I'm just going to give you a warning this time. Sign here and slow down a bit so you can get those groceries and get home safely.

Me: Yes sir, and thank you.

I guess to the short round cop buying groceries was either an emergency or I had given him something new to discuss when the other highway patrolmen because according to the B-I-L they do discuss such things.

I Had to Get Home

If you have read my 100 Word Challenge -- Situation then you know I have a love for driving fast, and that love has gotten me into several situations that I had rather not have been in -- on the side to of the road showing my license and proof of insurance to an officer. I have paid my share of tickets (and rightfully given) and I have received several warning. My thought is to share three times I got warning. One a day. If I get on a roll I might tell more --- I do have several.

Scenario 1: Driving the family van home from Amarillo to Dumas alone, 10:00pm ish. Hubby was in the hospital to have yet another back surgery, but the doctor had not been in to let us know exactly when it was to be. The girls (approx. 13, 9 and 8) were home alone. I was very stressed because they were home and had expected me earlier, but I had been delayed from when I called them last. I did not have things ready for a sub for the next day at work, and I didn't know what time I needed to be back at the hospital. I was driving on a four lane road and yes, my speed had crept past the legal limit - at least 15 miles above the legal limit. I saw the lights come on behind me.

Me: (Unpleasant thoughts.)

Officer: Ma'am is there a reason for your speeding this evening? I'm going to need to see your license and proof of insurance.

Me: My husband is in the hospital and I'm trying to get home to see about my children.

Officer: Are they with someone?

Me: (I begin to cry.) No, I didn't know I was going to be so late getting home. I called them, and . . . I don't know. My husband is going to have surgery but the doctor didn't come in and I've got to . . .

Officer: Ma'am (He interrupts me) Ma'am how old are your children?

Me: (Still crying. More like sobbing.) They are seven and eight and ... and no eight and nine and the oldest is eleven ... no twelve, no thirteen ..... I don't know how old they are I just need to get home. I've got to call my principal and its late and ....

Officer: (He interrupts me again.) Ma'am I'm just going to step back here for a moment and check this out and then I'm going to let you be on your way. But you have to promise me you'll slow down. Everything is going to be okay. Are you okay? Do you understand?

Me: (A little embarrassed but still sniffling.)Yes, I'm so sorry. Yes,... (He walks away.)

Officer: (Returning to my window.) Ma'am I want you to sign here. This is just a warning. Everything is going to fine I'm sure. Just slow down and get home to those girls safely.

I think the poor man thought that if he gave me a ticket he would also have to call for someone to take that blubbering mess home and he didn't want to have to be the one to sit and wait with me.
And he was right. The girls were fine, Robert called right after I got home to say the surgery wasn't scheduled until 10:00 am. My principal was very understand and had actually already lined up an experienced sub so I didn't have to make detailed plans. Everything worked out.

But I Was Just Fixin' to Do That

Where does the time go? I was just fixin' to post to my blog. I have ideas to write about. Then I sit down at the computer and check my email. First check for something that looks like it might actually contain information that is truly important -- reminders of things that need tending or news from family or friends. Then I look for through the stories or jokes that have been around or along the same lines as many others -- mostly checking who they are from and giggling because many are from people who know I get them from the same person who sent it to them in the first place. And then I find myself looking to see if anyone has commented on my blog, or something I've posted on FaceBook, and now there is Twitter to think about.

Once I've checked my email, I hop over to FaceBook. I scroll through the status updates of my friends. Maybe take one of the *what kind of _____ are you* quizzes just to see how I'm like or different from those who have taken them before me. Then I go to YoVille -- yes I'm pretty much addicted to YoVille and I must say that I have met some interesting people there. I hang out decorating my house and my apartment. Go to the Widget Factory, collect my money, stop by all my friends places leaving them messages to collect the money then play a few rounds of Rock,Paper,Scissors or Tic-Tac-Toe to collect to coins. Punch click I check out any new items in the stores I might want then I head back to my the home page to see if anyone has posted something new. Maybe play a word game.

I got an invite to Twitter from my great-aunt the other day. So I signed up for Twitter. I drop by there after FaceBook becomes a little boring --- not much happening at Twitter for me though because I really don't know much about Twittering. I only follow 4 people and I think only 3 are following me --- Poor people their lives must be sadder than mine.

Now I switch over to Blog land. There are certain ones of you that I must read and comment to. I do enjoy you and somedays I read the blogs before I do other things. I'm always thinking, "As soon as I finish this or that, I'll type up that blog." Then I look at the clock and it is 10:15 and Robert is headed to bed.

He wouldn't care if I sat at the computer, but I always thought it a good thing for couples to go to bed together. I heard in a movie when I was still a teenager a wife respond to the question "How do you keep your marriage strong?" with the remark that she got up when her husband did and went to bed when he did -- For some reason that just made sense to me and it has been something I've always tried to do.

My really good ideas to write up still aren't written, but it is late so I say
tomorrow. What have I not written about you ask --- Taking all three girls bra shopping, a tribute to my late husband, another mouse story, how shoes and coats can take over a house, stuff like that, and there are pictures and fun things that have happened with the grandchildren and so much more to my life than just a twitter or a status.

100 Word Challenge -- Situation

Velvet Verbosity issues a weekly writing challenge. This week's word is situation. I've found myself in this situation too many times, not always for this much speed, but for speeds beyond the legal limit.


The highway, long and straight. The traffic, non existent. The speedometer climbs to 90, 100, 110, 120. I feel the governor kick on and the speed begin to drop so I back off just a little and settle for 115. I feel powerful. I feel in control as the scenery flies by the side windows. My eyes are fixed on the road ahead. There are no thoughts, just the road, just the power. Then I see him and know it’s too late. Lights flash behind me. This isn't the situation I want. Indulgence comes with a price.

I'm Still Here -- Just Tired

I'm fine, really I am. I've just had a very hectic two weeks that left me drained and to baffled to post. I got an urgent call from Mom on the 6th saying I needed to come to Amarillo -- they were putting Daddy in the hospital so off I went. I was there a week (he is doing fine, home now, getting stronger) and then this week has just been racing from one thing to another as some weeks can be. Hopefully things are calming down and I will feel like reading and writing again.

Thank you for continuing to lurk out there and for those who have asked about me or sent well wishes. You are great. Really you are! You are great. :)

My last day to work is May 1. I hear those memes a calling, yes they are calling my name. So you will be seeing lots of me shortly I'm sure. :)

I Was Accosted by a Monster Mouse

Several years ago --- I just realized that several years ago I must have had a life because most of my stories come from *several years ago* --- Anyway, as I was saying I was class sponsor for 7 seniors in a small rural school in the Texas panhandle.

One of the ways we raised money to take a big trip at the end of the year was to run the concession during basketball games. Of course at the beginning of the season we had to clean said concession stand even though it was supposedly cleaned by the previous years group.

On the day we had decided to do this cleaning we found thing in pretty good shape except for the evidence that mice had been playing around in the store room --- fortunately there had not been any food stuffs stored in there, just some equipment that could be cleaned with bleach water.

The kids were troopers and put on the rubber gloves and did a great job pitching in, working and getting things done.

But --- there is always a but isn't there --- they got to playing around and visiting and their language became a little less than appropriate with several mild curse word being tossed around. I went into lecture mode about appropriateness of language. About how the language they used was a reflection on them, their family, the school.

It was at this exact moment that one of those dear little rodents decided to make an appearance and ran across my foot. Yes, it ran right across my foot. And as it did in a blink of an eye, I jumped back as if a huge monster had just accosted me, and squealed, "OH SHIT!"

The kids all started laughing and repeating my lecture back to me about using cuss words. All I could do at then was to laugh and assure them that that was an appropriate time to use such language (even though it wasn't).

"Rats" I Needed a Hug

Earlier this week while teaching a reading lesson a student looked at me and asked, "Does it hurt when a rat bites you?"

I was caught totally off guard because we were not discussing anything remotely close to rats. I'm not sure what I answered or even if I did. (I've learned to just ignore some random questions -- I think you can understand why.)

But that question has had me thinking about rats and mice. Those rodents haven't been a big part of my life and for that I'm thankful, but they have on occasion played a part.

One incident was many years ago when a mouse was caught in one of those old fashioned mouse traps that closes on the mouse's head and kills it, but leaves the mouse and trap there for you to deal with. I was a young mother at the time with a very ill husband.

I remember hearing the trap spring and knew I would have to remove the mouse. When I first looked under the sink the mouse was still moving and that in itself really *wigged me out*. So I decided I could let it just wait a bit before I did anything.

After about an hour I looked again and the mouse was still so I got the dust pan and the broom and was going to sweep the mouse into the dustpan and take it - trap and all - out to the trash can in the ally. I put the dust pan down and started to sweep, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Try as I may each time I reached for that mouse with the broom I would start shaking and gag. I couldn't do it. I could not sweep that mouse up. All I could do was cry. I had three little girl, a sick husband, and a dead mouse. I could deal with the girls, and I could deal with a husband who was going through radiation after having a kidney removed because of cancer, but I could not deal with that dead mouse. I just couldn't do it.

Finally I went next door with the story of my dilemma and this sweet little lady came over to help. She of course, swept the mouse up disposed of him and then did something that has stayed with me for all these many years.

This dear lady wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. That is what I needed more than anything. It was that hug that gave me strength to deal with so much more. Whenever I think I can't deal with anything more. I think of her and that mouse and that hug.