Almost Arrested

Almost Arrested--

This really happened several years ago.  I could not make this up.

My husband and I were spending some time in a state in the Northwest.  It was early summer.  The weather was perfect.  Bright sunshine and mild temperatures.  Large fluffy clouds moved lazily across the sky.  It was also the time of year when beautiful strawberries were ripe for the picking.

On this particular day my husband, a friend and I decided to visit a you-pick strawberry field.  We took her car.  She had a small white car with a hatchback which was just right for hauling berries home.  We found the strawberry field, took containers and began the backbreaking work of picking.  Naturally, I wanted to pick the biggest ones.  Who doesn't?  The sign at the patch told everyone to pick all berries on the chosen row.  Well, I tried to do that.  But, I must confess that I didn't do exactly what the sign said to do.

We picked until we had enough for strawberry shortcake, strawberries on ice cream and cereal.  We had a wonderful time.  After paying for our berries, we started back to our house.  That is when the real adventure began.

We were riding along in her car.  My husband was in the backseat, I was in the passenger seat and she was driving.  My friend has had many speeding tickets and more than her share of accidents.  One of those accidents landed me in the hospital for a week.  But, that is another story.  We were laughing and talking enjoying the lovely day.  She commented that she was going to drive the speed limit as she didn't want anymore tickets.

As we were approaching a traffic light, she saw a police car setting beside the road.  We all knew why it was there.  It  was waiting for some poor person who was not paying attention to speed or who might run the light.  We even commented about her speed, and that she had plenty of time to legally make the light.

Immediately after we crossed under the light, the police car pulled in behind her and turned on the lovely lights.  We were stunned.  She was very upset.  What had she done wrong?   She pulled to the side of the road and waited for what would happen next.

Looking in the rearview mirror, she noticed the policeman was walking to the passenger side of her car.  My side.  That was a little different, but it was a two-lane road.  Perhaps he was concerned about being hit by a passing car.  I sometimes notice officers visiting with people they have stopped from the passenger side of cars.  So, maybe this wasn't so unusual.

He approached my side with his hand on his gun.  It was still in the holster, but his hand rested on it.  He stayed just a distance away from the window on my side.  I had already rolled the window down in anticipation of a conversation.  But, his instruction was a bit baffling.  He told me to open the door slowly.  What was that about?  Sure, I would be glad to do that.  He continued to stand a bit away from the door.

As the door opened, he watched very closely and intently.  He examined me, the floor, the door.  Everything on my side of the car.  He asked where we were heading and where we had been.  He spoke to me.  I told him we had been strawberry picking.  He was welcome to take a look in the back.  The berries were there.  He said that he didn't need to do that because he believed me.

And then I asked what the problem was.  We could not believe our ears at the story he told us.

Evidently we had met a vehicle driving in the opposite direction.  The driver thought he saw the passenger in the white car he was meeting, me, holding a gun on the driver.  What???  That driver phoned the police and reported what he saw.  The policeman hurried to the stoplight and sat waiting for us to drive by.  Once he identified the little white car with two women in the front and a man in the back, he knew it was the one.

I told him I saw his hand on his gun and wondered what was wrong.  He said that if I had a gun, he would have to be ready for anything!  Me!  With a gun!  He said it was obvious that the driver in the approaching car had made a terrible mistake.  We talked for a bit and as we talked, I told him that I was making a point to my friend and pointed my finger in the air.  Maybe that is what the person saw.  I suppose from a distance my finger could look like a gun.  He said he was relieved that it was nothing.  He had been very nervous wondering what situation he might be walking into.

We all had a good laugh, and my friend recovered from the shock of being stopped again.  Soon we resumed our journey.

I have thought often about that incident.  The driver in the approaching car was right to report what he thought was an abduction.  The police officer did the right thing when he did a thorough investigation of my side of the car being sure everything was as it should be.  My friend did a good thing when she obeyed all traffic laws.

And I learned to keep my hands in my lap and make my point with my voice!! (The strawberry shortcake was delicious!:)