My Brush With The Po-Leece

Here's my partner in crime! Trusty and I were heading home from an exciting visit to Tractor Supply where we had invested in several bags of special Equine Senior Horse Chow (formulated for those elders with few teeth and in need of a bit more fat- Maggie's department). We were tooling along, well within the speed limit and minding our driving p's and q's. We had passed under the highway underpass- a mere mile or so from home- when I espied a police car directly behind me. "Well", I thought, I'll just make sure I continue forward in an orderly and innocuous manner and thank dog we're almost home!"

But no sooner than I had made an impeccable right hand turn onto our lovely road, then the bells and whistles erupt on said police car. I've been pulled over... I hurriedly pull on my mask and rolled my window down, attempting a pleasant and vacuous smile behind my mask. "Yes Officer?" I inquire politely. The woman officer (who looks to be about fifteen years old) responds, "I bet your wondering why you've been pulled over. Your registration has expired." I demure, "But that is simply impossible! I've passed emissions just this past spring and I know I renewed my registration!!" Meanwhile, I fumble in the glove compartment, out of which is spilling insurance cards and salt and peppers from take out food and kleenex... and the envelope with my registration. I triumphantly pull it out and realize she's right (of course!) and my car's registration has expired not just in December of 2021 but December of 2020... how is this possible!!?!??!?!!? Now I feel like a crazy person.

"It must be COVID time!" I exclaim. "We haven't been driving much and gee, the paper work must have gotten lost!" She was kind enough to reply, "It happens" and let me off with a warning and a quite jolly, "I know you're going to go home and re-register your car right now!" Which I most certainly did.

And found out that Bob's truck hadn't been registered since 2019!! Hahhahhahaha!! Whoops! And how did we not get in trouble from that? We've driven to New York- where if you recall, we broke down and were towed and a policeman gave us a ride. HE could have ticketed us if he'd run our plates! We've also transported Bob's sculpture to Vermont on several occasions and never got flagged for expired registration. I guess we've been very lucky. 

Don't worry: we're all 100% legal now. It was a relative bargain, too. Only a $10 late fee (and the weird other fees they tack on like something called a park use fee...) and the original cost and we're good.

And here's a preview of fun to come! Bomb Cyclone a'comin! Get out those snow shovels and blowers! Batten the hatches and stock up on milk and toilet paper... and bread!!
 

But Ossifer!

The other night, on our way back home from visiting with friends and enjoying pizza, we couldn't help but notice that the car behind us was swerving all over the road, as well as tail-gaiting us in an unnerving and annoying manner. Bob was going the speed limit (he's a much more law abiding driver than myself hahahahahahaha!) and being cautious. We passed a police car parked to the left side of the road and both of us exclaimed something like, "Good! Hope he pulls that guy behind us over!" Yes, lights and whistles blaring, the police car pulls out and gives chase.
And then we see that the police officer has passed the car behind us and we say to one another, "He must be on his way to an emergency"... until it dawns on us, with all lights flashing and sirens whooping and bleeping that he's pulling up behind US.
Bob steers to the edge of the road and the car that's been weaving and swerving zooms off ahead. We exchange "WTF" looks and Bob maneuvers his wallet out of his pocket to access his license. I attempt to wrestle the large plastic pot full of plants that our good friend Bob gave us up off the floor of the truck and onto the seat so as to allow me to open the glove compartment and get the registration out. (No easy feat!)
The officer approaches the truck and says something about how we were swerving on the road and Bob answers, "That wasn't us: that was the car behind us." The police person then says, "Yeah, I noticed that. I thought he was trying to signal that YOU were driving oddly". !?!?!?!??!!?!?
So the police man says, "Oh, and you've got plants!" !?!?!?!?!?!?
He then states, "I guess I pulled the wrong car over", gets back in his police car and pulls out and speeds off, not even having checked Bob's license or insurance or registration. Needless to say, we were perplexed.

(And I will add that both Bob and I simultaneously remarked to each other, "It's a good thing we aren't black!" How sad is that? We'd probably be arrested or dead!)

I Fought the Law and...

Sheldon and Louise have left, and the house feels oddly empty. Just before they departed, they presented Bob and I with two forsythia bushes. (I have a photo of the plants around here somewhere, but am using the forced forsythia in a vase as I can't seem to find my picture. I've been disorganized lately, so the picture above will gave to suffice.) Any kind of plant is a great gift. Thank you!
On Friday morning, a lot was happening. I had to be at work a bit earlier than usual and Sheldon and Louise were preparing to depart, so it was even more chaotic than is typical. It was therefore in a flurry that I went out the door and "put petal to the metal" as they say. I do drive a little over the speed limit on good days (who doesn't?) but on Friday I was really booking. As I rounded a bend on Route 109 in Morris (not far from the fabled Stoddard House that Bob and I almost purchased three times), I spied a police car parked in a recessed driveway. It had been there a few times earlier this month, so I should have remembered and slowed down. Too late, I hit the brakes and tried to look nonchalant as I sped past the cruiser. Sure enough, there were festive flashing lights and sirens in my rear view mirror.

I rolled my window down, with my license at the ready and said, preemptively, "I'm sorry. I know I was speeding. But I'm late for work and I've had house guests for almost a month." The officer asked me where I worked, replying, "Interesting". when I told him and he returned to his car. I sat, stewing in my own self pitying juices, thinking how I was going to get an expensive ticket and how I hadn't even considered until then that my stupid emissions sticker was expired and great! I still have my "Dogs Against Romney" bumper sticker- life sucked! He let me sit for quite a while. (I was going pretty fast. It's only a 35 mph speed limit).
But then the police officer finally returned , he said, "I'm letting you off with a verbal warning". $%!^!$!&^!!!
Wow! The great gods of all things traffic really smiled down on this law breaker! I don't know if there's a moral to this story, but I got an apology and a break on a ticket in one week. And two forsythia bushes. Sweet.

Missed Photo Op: The Southbury Police to the Rescue

What was I thinking? We had a close call yesterday and tremendous excitement and where was my camera? Upstairs sleeping. Here's what happened:
Bob went outside to saw some boards under the carport (home of my Future Studio). Our neighbor was outside and warned Bob that a suspiscious racoon (as in staggering as if drunk, out in daylight- possibly rabid) was roaming around and they had lost track of it. Bob promptly went back to sawing. A few minutes later, he comes in to tell me that the racoon was hiding behind some plywood, under the car port, just feet from where he was working. We called "the authorities" (local police) who dispatched a cruiser. (We watched as he drove up to the wrong house. That was funny; Bob had asked if they wanted directions...) Anyway, the policeman called the Animal Control Unit who helped flush the animal away from the house and the BOOM they shot it. So there's the officer with a smoking pistol, the heavily made up Animal Control Unit person (more eye makeup than even me!) with no gloves or eye or face protection and this dead racoon being boosted into a garbage bag by a neck loop device of some kind. And I neglect to photograph this???!?!??? What was I thinking?
Anyway, here's a picture of Jules who had to stay inside during all of this and seems to be asking, "Why don't I ever get to have any fun?"