Doctor breaks law – pleads guilty – saves life. I fantasized. This might make a catchy headline. Doctor breaks law – pleads guilty – saves life. I fantasized. This might make a catchy headline. I got a citation. I was on my way to the hospital. The officer was just doing his job. I didn’t pull the doctor card. I just didn’t feel like it. I was clocked at the breakneck speed of 32 miles per hour. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on a residential street is 35 mph. The posted speed limit on Father Duenas Drive was 15, one of only two access arteries to the hospital. Suffering wounded post-traumatic stress paranoia, but strengthened by the fierce determination to sin no more I started to sincerely obey the law. It proved not so easy. Under 20 the speedometer gets vague. Even with my foot totally off the accelerator in my frugal little subcompact, just slightly North of Grandma Duck’s Electro Mobile, I had to tap the breaks a few times to keep the needle under 20. Five cars were lining up behind me. “ I am setting an example ”, I said to myself. At 18 mph my mind started to wander. I began to wonder whether that lawnmower over there, hallmark of residential tranquility, was breaking the speed limit. Fantasizing someone coming up to the emergency room on a riding mower. I was brusquely jolted out of my daydream. Alarm! The needle had crossed the 20 mark! The next time, coming off San Vitores Circle I had an ambulance ahead of me. It was definitely doing more than 15. Here was my chance to see swift law enforcement in action! Nothing of the sort happened. Where are our friends and helpers when we need them! About 100 yards behind me came a Fire Department SUV. Holding steady at 15, I expected it to pass me any moment. It didn’t, all the way up to the emergency room drop-off. A law abiding fireman. The tall slender slightly gray-haired officer gentleman and his crew have become an amiable fixture of my daily commutes. I wave and smile. I begin to miss him. Cruising at 15 mph combined with Yoga breathing is a very relaxing pre-retirement exercise. I recommend it very highly. Friday afternoon, an occasion too numerous to count, I came to the stop sign right in front of the hospital. Being at the cusp of my stop. I saw the familiar gentleman officer, this time accompanied by a young lady officer wearing a very elegant set of reflective lens aviator style sunglasses. Law enforcement in action keeping access to the hospital lawful and safe, I thought to myself. Basking in the satisfaction of being a law abiding citizen, I looked at her and smiled. She waved. I am an old dog! She waved! How could I get so lucky? I stopped. She said albeit having been at a virtual standstill, the wheels of my car had not come to a complete standstill. A warning to all my pre-retirement friends. Attractive lady officers can be a traffic hazard. Call it my post-traumatic paranoia, if you will, I still feel I am selectively targeted. Why? It can’t be my frugal subcompact. I have younger colleagues with much more exotic machinery capable of serious speed. But then, who knows? My nickname among the nurses may be a clue. Chris
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 08:06:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015