I drive to a couple of different jewelry stores that had rather trade out the repair work to me than hire their own bench jeweler, which means that I do some driving daily. So, this morning, before they opened, I drive to this little city where the store is in a strip mall on a busy road. It’s a small town, and I don’t remember ever seeing a police officer here, ever.
I do my business, and get back in my truck, fill and fire up my pipe, and maneuver right onto the main road. The car in front of me decides to make a last minute right turn off the road without signaling, where I stomp my break. Seconds later, red and blues are swirling behind me, so I pull off at the next store.
Now, my mind is spinning with what I could have done wrong. But…
The officer approaches my truck, and I keep my hands on the wheel. I am already thinking over how I will handle revealing to the officer that I am carrying a pistol because of the type of work I do, but…
“Sir, can you extinguish your smoking apparatus?”
“Sure!” I respond, and I tamp the pipe.
“Sir, fully extinguish your pipe in your ashtray.”
“But…” my mind which was spinning on so many things just didn’t compute… “I don’t have an ashtray.” I know from experience years ago as a cigarette smoker that they don’t like it when you flick them out the window, so I figure dumping the bowl on the road was out of the question.
With more anger… “Sir, one more time, dump out your pipe right now.” Meanwhile I can see in the rearview that he is putting his hand on his gun. He is obviously upset and probably not very well trained.
“The pipe is its own ashtray….” But, swift thinking, I just dump the pipe out in my hand, and toss the ashes into the pipe rest, which spread ashes all over my dashboard.
“License and proof of insurance please.”
“Why am I being pulled over, officer?”
“You made a right hand turn off of the highway without signaling.”
“Ummm… if I made a right-hand turn off of the highway, why was I still on the highway when you pulled me over?” I knew there must be something I am missing in this conversation. “Do you mean the car in front of me made a turn without signaling?”
He was busy writing my ticket or something that involved writing.
He goes back to his car and takes about ten, fifteen minutes. Meanwhile I repack my pipe for when this moron lets me go, wiping the ashes off of my dashboard. And, that was the last of my FVF that I dumped. What an idiot this guy is. But, I also have no idea why this cop pulled me over. Maybe my pipe? Maybe he thought it was pot? But, I am wearing a suit and tie, and the truck is brand new, almost brand new. ..
He comes back to my window and he tells me that he is letting me off with a warning. I am not to do that turn without signaling that I didn’t do, again. And, he tells me that next time an officer asks me extinguish my smoking apparatus, that I should not argue. Ha ha!
“Yes sir, thank you.” Ha, thank you? Why did I say that? I have friends and family that are police officers, and one of my daughters wants to be an officer. I have great respects for the law and those who serve, but… some of these guys are idiots. What a weird morning. So, if a policeman asks you to extinguish your pipe… how would you have handled it?
I do my business, and get back in my truck, fill and fire up my pipe, and maneuver right onto the main road. The car in front of me decides to make a last minute right turn off the road without signaling, where I stomp my break. Seconds later, red and blues are swirling behind me, so I pull off at the next store.
Now, my mind is spinning with what I could have done wrong. But…
The officer approaches my truck, and I keep my hands on the wheel. I am already thinking over how I will handle revealing to the officer that I am carrying a pistol because of the type of work I do, but…
“Sir, can you extinguish your smoking apparatus?”
“Sure!” I respond, and I tamp the pipe.
“Sir, fully extinguish your pipe in your ashtray.”
“But…” my mind which was spinning on so many things just didn’t compute… “I don’t have an ashtray.” I know from experience years ago as a cigarette smoker that they don’t like it when you flick them out the window, so I figure dumping the bowl on the road was out of the question.
With more anger… “Sir, one more time, dump out your pipe right now.” Meanwhile I can see in the rearview that he is putting his hand on his gun. He is obviously upset and probably not very well trained.
“The pipe is its own ashtray….” But, swift thinking, I just dump the pipe out in my hand, and toss the ashes into the pipe rest, which spread ashes all over my dashboard.
“License and proof of insurance please.”
“Why am I being pulled over, officer?”
“You made a right hand turn off of the highway without signaling.”
“Ummm… if I made a right-hand turn off of the highway, why was I still on the highway when you pulled me over?” I knew there must be something I am missing in this conversation. “Do you mean the car in front of me made a turn without signaling?”
He was busy writing my ticket or something that involved writing.
He goes back to his car and takes about ten, fifteen minutes. Meanwhile I repack my pipe for when this moron lets me go, wiping the ashes off of my dashboard. And, that was the last of my FVF that I dumped. What an idiot this guy is. But, I also have no idea why this cop pulled me over. Maybe my pipe? Maybe he thought it was pot? But, I am wearing a suit and tie, and the truck is brand new, almost brand new. ..
He comes back to my window and he tells me that he is letting me off with a warning. I am not to do that turn without signaling that I didn’t do, again. And, he tells me that next time an officer asks me extinguish my smoking apparatus, that I should not argue. Ha ha!
“Yes sir, thank you.” Ha, thank you? Why did I say that? I have friends and family that are police officers, and one of my daughters wants to be an officer. I have great respects for the law and those who serve, but… some of these guys are idiots. What a weird morning. So, if a policeman asks you to extinguish your pipe… how would you have handled it?