Sunday, October 08, 2006

Halt!

So the other night I drove to the other end of town to buy a milkshake. Actually, I drove. Paul bought the milkshake.

The other end of town is a whole three minute's drive and the whole downtown area is very brightly lit. I was almost home...two driveways away, to be exact...when I saw the lights in my review mirror and pulled over to let a police car pass. At least, that's what I thought I was doing. It took me a minute to realize that I, the cautious and responsible, was actually being pulled over.

I have never been pulled over before so it was every bit a new experience. A rare treat indeed. The rarer the better...

So it was politely pointed out to me that my lights weren't on. (Oops!) And then I was asked for my insurance card. I pulled everything out of my glovebox, totally forgot I had an indoor light, and madly tried to find a current insurance card in the dark. I had about a dozen insurance cards...but most of them had expired in June and you'd better believe I was feeling pretty flustered. The officer laughed and said he was pretty sure I had insurance since I had all those cards...gave me a warning and sent me home.

I still find it amazing that for four months I drove hundreds and hundreds of miles in perfect peace, without a current insurance card....but once I realized I didn't have one and that I still had to drive for two days while I was waiting for a replacement to come in the mail...I was about ready to fall apart every time I got behind the wheel of the car.

I'm sure someone has a good psychological explanation for that, but all I can say is: ignorance truly is bliss! And if you drive by a car some brilliant summertime noon with its lights on...it might just be me.