That word best describes the Nebraska highway patrolman I encountered on the final leg of our long\u00a0 perilous journey home from Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After deciding to stay an extra night in our New Mexico Super 8 storm home..we cautiously coaxed Big Red onto Interstate 40, bound for Oklahoma City. The temperature outside was 10 below zero.\u00a0 The first hundred miles or so justified our caution. Hundreds of 18 wheelers had managed to create two dry trails in the driving lane but the passing lane was not fit for anyone but fools. Venturing over there was suicide but, sure enough, as I\u2019m safely tucked in behind a semi doing 40 miles per hour, somebody in a small SUV, came charging past us kicking up little chunks of ice as he sped by.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we\u2019ll see him upside down in the ditch soon,\u201d both Linda and I said in unison. But we never did and by the time we approached Santa Rosa, the dry spots on the highway had grown wider and by the time we arrived in Amarillo..it was all clear with a temperature of a balmy 8 degrees. Even going through Oklahoma City, where they\u2019d gotten a foot of snow,\u00a0 was a breeze thanks to the freshly plowed toll road by-pass. We made it all the way to Wichita before calling it a night. Next morning, we were greeted by temps in the teens and a southerly breeze for a change. When we finally crossed the border into Nebraska, Linda and I gave each other a high five; we’re getting close now!<\/p>\n
There are several\u00a0small towns along that stretch of Highway 81. The only way you can even tell it’s a town\u00a0is because of the 55 mile an hour speed limit\u00a0signs. I had been lifting off the gas for each one of them..slowing to at least 60 (believing cops allow a 5 mph fudge factor) and wondering why it was necessary to slow down for every old grain elevator and\u00a0abandoned gas station. Then, with Interstate 80 almost in sight, I passed through another dilapidated little berg off to the side of the road. It was posted 55 but this time I just kept goin\u2019. That\u2019s when I was blinded by the colorful strobe lights in my rear view mirror that came out of no where.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"If](\"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/files\/2011\/02\/highway-patrol-ne.jpg\" "\\"highway")
If you're lost by the Broderick Crawford reference, ask your parents.<\/p><\/div>\n
So there I sat like a whipped puppy waiting for the patrolman to run all the license plate information before making that slow walk to my window. He needed\u00a0to make sure I wasn\u2019t some criminal who might be packing heat or I could be a smuggler and the reason my big old car was riding so low is because the trunk was loaded with illegal aliens instead of a bunch of suit cases, dirty clothes and cans of soup and vegetables which had frozen solid the night before. \u201cGood afternoon. Can I see your license, registration and proof in insurance, please?\u201d Oh god..I always save the registration when I put on the new plates..where is it? Here, Linda said after going through the glove compartment. Our insurance card..where\u2019s our insurance card? I don\u2019t think we got the latest one from State Farm before we left.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cDid you not see any of the eight 55 mile an hour signs posted back there?\u201d the trooper asked sarcastically. \u201cGuess not,\u201d I said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been on the road a long time and anxious to get home.\u201d That clearly didn’t buy any sympathy. \u201cWell, you keep looking for that insurance card and I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d As he returned to his blinking cruiser we frantically went through everything..but no card.<\/p>\n
CRAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Broderick Crawford is back at my window. \u201cUh, Mr. Lund you were doing 68 in a 55. That’s going to\u00a0run you 75 dollars plus court costs for a total of 125 dollars. You can appear back here in person or send it in. As for the insurance, we\u2019ll give you ten days to have a local police officer verify that you\u2019re covered and sign this form. Now, I need you to put your signature by the X on all three pages and you can be on your way.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the time we were sitting there, I don\u2019t think six cars passed from either direction. \u201cIt\u2019s just a damn speed trap to make money off of dumb schlubs like us,\u201d I whispered to Linda as I handed the paperwork back through the window. \u201cBe careful now, have a nice day.\u201d\u00a0 I wanted to scream..listen pally, you\u2019ve ruined any possibility of that with you\u2019re your little toll road here. I hope you choke on the money you get for exceeding your monthly quota. But I kept a cold silence while Linda leaned over as we\u2019re pulling away\u00a0and said \u201cThank You.\u201d \u201cThank you?\u201d I said..you\u2019re telling the guy who just picked our pocket for 125 bucks thank you?\u201d \u201cHe\u2019s just doing his job, getting mad isn\u2019t going to help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That, you see, is the difference between her and I. Linda is a good person inside and out..all the time. Me..not so much.<\/p>\n
But it is good to be home. I made out checks to pay the bills this morning..a couple days past due because of our being stranded. I\u2019m going to try hard to muster an understanding attitude when next month\u2019s bills arrive and \u00a0include late fees. They\u2019re just doing their job..heh, heh, heh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
zeal\u00b7ous \u2013adjective full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent. That word best describes the Nebraska highway patrolman I encountered on the final leg of our long\u00a0 perilous journey home from Arizona.\u00a0 After deciding to stay an extra night in our New Mexico Super 8 storm home..we cautiously coaxed Big…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lund-at-large","category-60","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11817,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005\/revisions\/11817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"highway](\"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/files\/2011\/02\/highway-patrol-crawford.jpg\" "\\"highway")
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