DAY NINE

I woke up smelling coffee --- always a good feeling. So I quickly got my shower and dressed to go downstairs. However, we received a disturbing telephone call.

Brenda’s children had been vacationing in Florida with their father and it seems that he had had some sort of attack during the night and was in the emergency room in Fort Lauderdale. Long story short --- the doctors could find nothing wrong and sent him on his way. But we didn’t know if Brenda should fly down to help with the drive back. We decided to go ahead and leave and I could always drop Brenda at the Little Rock or Memphis airport, if necessary.

After a great send off breakfast of pigs in blankets, Margie plied us with Easter cakes and baskets of candy for each one of us as well as more pigs. So we started on the drive back.

All went well until we reach Texarkana. I was driving around a loop that circled the city and going through some construction (speed limit 45 mph). And there he was --- a motorcycle cop. I probably was doing at least 60, maybe more, so naturally, he pulled out behind me with flashing lights. He saunters up to the car and asks, “Is there an emergency?” (Probably what he asks everyone.)

And I said, “Well, kind of.”

He said after a pause, “I’m listening.”

So I explained the situation and he wrote me up a warning. I told him (and it’s the truth) “This is the first time I’ve ever been stopped for speeding.” Not that I don’t speed, it’s just that I’ve never been caught, but of course, I didn’t tell him that. Anyway, we went on our way, careful to keep the speed only nine miles over the limit from then on.

We pulled into our driveway about 7:30 ready to be overwhelmed by Rufus and Jesse as they greeted us. We were not disappointed.