Dumb traffic tickets

[426HemiChick]

                25 May 2024
In mid 1969 I was in NY working on the super secret FBM sub program. I was heading down to the Brooklyn Navy yard to do some work on the system installed on the Navy test ship. On the way down I was stopped for speeding, 69 in a 55 zone. The cop wrote me a ticket and asked me when I'd like to appear in court. I asked him what dates were available. He gave me several to choose from, One of the dates was after I would be in Japan, so I selected it.

Still have the ticket, hope the statute of limitations has run out. Probably has after 55 years. Won't tempt fate by visiting NY any time soon.

I was driving a rented 69 Dodge B body with a massive 318. Actually, it was a nice car.

Best Always
426 HC's

[Kern Dog]

The wife and I considered a move out of state and I wondered what it might be like to land in a smaller town. I don't know how true it is but I've heard of how the tolerance for "transplants" can be.
It sure would be frustrating to just be out enjoying the day and to have to watch every move. Sometimes the thrill of the ride gets away from you and you're going faster than the limit or cornering harder than the law allows.

[426HemiChick]

The wife and I considered a move out of state and I wondered what it might be like to land in a smaller town. I don't know how true it is but I've heard of how the tolerance for "transplants" can be.
It sure would be frustrating to just be out enjoying the day and to have to watch every move. Sometimes the thrill of the ride gets away from you and you're going faster than the limit or cornering harder than the law allows.

I have lived in many states and countries. When doing so, I always view myself as an outsider and try to assimilate. If I don't like the situation where I am, I move on to greener pastures. I moved to Texas in 1979, rented a place in a small burb of Fort Worth and settled in. Six months later we bought a house in Southlake TX, population about 800. It was rural, many ranches, no traffic lights, few stop signs, and few residents.

Don't remember the date but the town started to grow rapidly. I was living and working in Mexico at the time. I'd return home for a week every month. Had a great deal, 12 weeks paid vacation. Every time I came home things were drastically changed from the previous trip. Traffic was up, rural Texas was disappearing, and I didn't much care for it. Eventually I became a cop, enjoyed it, worked with CPS (Child Protective Services) quite a lot. I went along with the CPS Officer as protection for all involved in the case. Why did I do it? Because I knew what it was like to be beaten and knocked around by alcoholic and drugged parents. I saw the lousy side of life. The unfortunate side of this was there was little I could do to help the kids. The courts almost always side with the parents.

Went on to becoming a tree climber (arborist). Did that until my knees gave out preventing me from safely climbing.

Finally realized I no longer fit in the Southlake scheme of things. After 42 years of fighting City Hall, I sold out and moved to Phoenix. Best move I have made. We have two seasons here, Hot and Hotter. Eight inches of rain annually so rust is a scarce commodity. Don't recommend it if you don't like temps 100+. The culture here is very different from what I am used to, but I have grown to like it. It's mixed and we all seem to get along. It's not perfect but what is perfect?

I do know: "We are Home !!!"

Best Always
426 HC's

[426HemiChick]

Hi Folks,                28 May 2024

Decided to honor my second ship and all the crews that served aboard her with a custom License plate of their own. Our Dodge Ram PU now proudly wears "TAGS21" the Hull Number of the USNS Bowditch T-AGS 21.

Both my ships and the two I never served on, are long gone though I fondly remember them and their crews. I learned a lot and had a wonderful career in engineering, complements of the US NAVY and our ships and crews.

Best Always
426 HC's

[lloyd3]

I once got a written warning for "Reckless Driving" back in Bradford, Pennsylvania the mid-1980s. I'd been in the petrology lab all evening looking at slides of different minerals and my eyes and patience were pretty-well shot. I never screwed around on campus (w/my Sublime '70 Bee) but the minute I rolled over the property line onto the county road, it was "game-on". The bigger Holley carb I'd bought to replace the previous iteration didn't have a provision for a choke, so the car was famously cold-blooded. I'd get that 383 started by feathering the throttle and then keep it in 1st gear all the way around the campus to let it warm up, but the minute I was off the school grounds, I'd run it much more briskly to get it to idle better by the time I'd get back to town. This November/December night was exceptionally wet & cold (the windows had a rim of frost) and, of course, it didn't want to idle at all, spitting and sputtering all the way around the quad. By the time I'd hit the county road, I'd simply had it and floored it, hammering all the gears as I headed for my off-campus apartment. Wound it up to whatever the top was for the 3.23 to 1, 8 3/4 set up when I noticed a tiny little flashing red light wayyy-back in my mirror. Townies, I thought, and after thinking about it, I decided to pull over and wait for them (it would be hard to hide a lime-green Super Bee in '80s nowhere Pennsylvania, because rust had claimed all the other examples there by then. This car also had fresh paint, Cragars, & a new tail-stripe & rubber all around, so...it really stood out in that part of the world) besides...I knew he'd not had a chance to lock-in my speed even if he had a radar gun because he was just too-far back from me.)  The townie Police cruiser pulls up and the middle-aged officer walks up to my window, which was already down. He shines his flashlight at me and in my car and he then does a tour all the way around it while it idles (perfectly, now that it was warmed up a little). He asked me to turn it off (presumably so he could hear our conversation as I had turbo mufflers on it by then) and then he proceeds to tells me that my tires "didn't stop spinning until I was clear past the gymnasium". I responded with "I'm really sorry about that officer, but I've had several problems with this carburetor and I was just trying to get it to clear out a little so it would idle". I believe I also mentioned that I'd had a rather long & frustrating night in the geology lab at school. Not sure which story worked, but he went back to his new Mopar cruiser (mid-80s St. Regis?) and returned with my written warning, he also told me then, rather emphatically that "if you have to blow the carbon out of her, take it up on the expressway....but just go 55!".  He handed me my warning, explained the particulars of it, and cut me loose. I saved that citation (and still have it after all these years) as I've never heard of another quite like it. "Reckless Driving" usually had a much-more severe consequence in the world I grew up in.

[426HemiChick]

Hi lloyd3,            29 May 2024

Wasn't life much simpler back then? If I had my druthers I'd go back to 1957 and remain there.

Best Always
426 HC's

[lloyd3]

Hello Hemichick:

Well, I don't know about 1957 (although I could probably be talked into it). Even the 1980s & 90s weren't too-bad IMHO.  Besides cars, I like to hunt and fish and even there things are getting pretty-tough these days. There seems to be "quality of life" issues just about everywhere anymore.