Nat and Amber meet the Trooper

Nat got the important parts of her story correct. However, there are some additional facts that I wasn't about to share with the trooper who pulled me over.

Amber and Nat were in the back seat of the old red Nova. We were near a stop sign next to the Meadowbrook Chapel where we attended Church in Virginia. I had been having problems with the Nova stalling when I braked for a stop. As I approached the stop sign I checked both ways for cars (and police). The roads were clear so instead of coming to a complete stop and stalling the car, I slowed, but kept moving through the intersection. I had just slid past the stop sign when a Va. Trooper popped over the hill to the right. I knew I "was in a heap of trouble" as I turned right. I kept watching in the rear view mirror and sure enough he turned around.

I watched for convenient place to pull off the road as the trooper followed our car. Soon the red lights began to flash, and I pulled to the side of the road. For a fleeting second, I thought I have an excellant excuse. It was the car's fault. The stupid thing stalls at intersections. Fortunately, I saw the error in the excuse before the trooper walked to our car. If the car wasn't working properly, I had no business driving it with two kids in the back seat.

So, I decided to take my chances with what would likely be the trooper's first conclusion.

After he checked my license, he looked into the rear seat.

"You know what you did back there don't you?"

Of course I did. But I also knew why I did it, and I kept that a secret. Better to just say "Yes Trooper" and take my lumps.

"Yes, Trooper."

"You know running stop signs is dangerous."

"Yes, Trooper."

"You should be ashamed of driving like that especially with children in the car."

"Yes, Trooper."

"Well, I won't give you a ticket this time, but you need to act like a responsible parent and keep your family safe."

"Thank you, Trooper"

I waited until he pulled back on the road and was out of sight before I continued. I wasn't about to risk stalling the car where he could witness it.