I was blowin’ down Highway 331 on Saturday after the football game. The Tide had narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tigers had their hands full with Arkansas. We were listening to Paul Thorn at levels normally associated with permanent ear damage and small ruptures of capillaries around the eyes and nose. It was a beautiful fall day in lower Alabama. The passing landscape was dotted with cattle farms, beautiful old southern homes and huge oak trees.
We rolled the windows down for a while and let the wind blow through our hair. The smell of fresh cut hay waffled through the window and for some reason it made me think of the summers I spent on Aunt Edith and Uncle Howard’s farm. Jilda saw a gaggle of geese who had taken a respite on one of the large lakes south of Montgomery. As we headed to a surprise birthday party for one of our very best friends, our spirits were running high.
Somewhere between Highland Home and Rutledge, there is a stretch where I think the speed limit is 65 in no man’s land in the a and north end of Crenshaw County before getting to Luverne. I was leading a pack of five cars and we were all hanging pretty tight. The speed limit dropped to 55 and before the Volvo coasted to an acceptable speed, we met an oncoming Luverne city cruiser. Upon reflection, had I ONLY been driving 65, I would probably have been closer to 75 and had just eased down to a more sedate 71 when the radar waves struck my windshield and reported my infraction to the radar on the dash of the black & white. I saw him hit the brakes and make a U-Turn. The good people who were following at the same speed I was traveling were kind enough to pull to the side and let him catch up to me – citizenship at its best.
I felt a little goofy sitting there on the side of the road with the cruiser behind me with those throbbing blue lights. Jilda slid down in the seat to avoid accusing stares from the locals who happened by while we were marooned. “I betcha he’ll slow down next time he comes through Luverne,” I could almost hear one of the gawkers say.
I’m dreading the call to the courthouse. “Yes Mr. Watson our computers have been working overtime to calculate the correct cost of your fine. You’ll be happy to know that thanks to your visit to our fine city, we’ll now be able to build that new school we’ve been planning for so many years.” Glad I could help judge.
Of course there are only two things that travel faster than the speed of light – gossip and the report of a traffic violation to your insurance company.
“Oh, I see here Mr. Watson you got a speeding ticket, you may want to consider a second job to pay your auto insurance over the next few years.”
Anyway, I’ve been very mindful of my speed the last few days. I think it’s time to slow down and smell the asphalt.
