A Close Call

Last night I went out to dinner at the Old Pueblo Grill with my friend E. She used to live in town and moved to Portland a couple of years ago, but comes back to direct shows every so often. We had a delicious dinner (I had southwestern chicken parmesan with green chili mac and cheese and she had some avocado cilantro chicken thing), and then I ran off to the theatre to see her show while she paid the bill. Sadly, I was 10 minutes late cuz I couldn't find parking, but they snuck me in. It was The Pillowman, which is NOT a lovely, sweet play, by any stretch of anyone's convoluted imagination but it was well done and I enjoyed the uncomfortableness of it.

So, I am driving home, glancing ever so often at my passenger seat to make sure my leftovers don't slide off the seat, and suddenly I notice flashing lights in my rearview mirror! Son of a bitch! I have no idea how fast I had been going, but I put my blinker on and turned into a 7-11. My heart is pounding and I am worried...I know my car insurance is paid up but I don't have the current paper showing it...and a couple of other things I have been doing kinda under the table to avoid detection....so yeah, I am sweatin' as the cop approaches me.

"Do you know why I stopped you?' asked the cop

"not a clue," I replied.

"Do you remember when you turned onto this street from that street?" he asked. I am in the University of Arizona environs and navigating these streets filled with bicyclists and crazy drivers (11 pm on a saturday night), is tough enough as it is.

"when you made your right hand turn, you didn't turn into the right lane...in fact you turned into the median." He said. Now, I know I make wide right turns, cuz I can't see the front right of my car, as I sit so low, and I have run over the curb on more than one occassion, but seriously, the MEDIAN?

"I don't recall that," I said honestly. He asked me if I had been drinking and I sorta scoffed and said No. He asked for license etc adn I gave him the license, got the book out with all my paperwork, knowing the insurance card was out of date...forotunately, I had ALL the other insurance cards in there (I have owned the car for 15 years, so there are a few of them) and start rifling through them. I give him the one expired 10/1/09 and he took it all back to his car

He came back a couple minutes later and said he was only giving me a warning and to be more careful. PHEW...yessir I said and got back on the road and went home to eat my left overs....

Now, sitting here, while very glad I didn't get a ticket, and you bet your butt I will turn more carefully from now on, but REALLY? that is why he pulled me over? Not a minute before I had turned onto the street, I had swerved around a bike riding homeless man who didn't have any lights on. Another car ran the stop sign, a car in front of my (after I made the turn), changed lanes with a signal. Was it really that bad of a thing? And I honestly did NOT turn into the median...But whatever...I am just glad I didn't get a ticket....or worse.....