As I wait to get a court date for my dastardly deed of not getting the car emmission tested on time, I'm getting everything else about the car together too. And, of course, I'm watching the speed limit. Not that I'm a really fast or unsafe driver. Until I had that accident on the ice in Massachusetts shortly before we moved home, I hadn't had an accident in 20 years.

Still, I don't need any more trouble, so whatever the speed limit is, wherever I am, that's what I drive. Not even five miles over (which, I guess, is about the amount by which I used to exceed the speed limit, usually from not paying attention to where the signs changed) If somebody gets on my bumper or even seems impatient to me I pull over and let them go around me.

Because I'm always watching out for deer.....

and other wildlife - foxes, rabbitts, the chupacabra, whatever- I've noticed a police officer sitting on the opposite side of the road as I go home via Rt 97. He's been there for three nights in a row. Last night, almost as soon as I saw a set of headlights behind me, I could see what was going to happen. I continued to turtle along, the person behind me got up on my bumper just as we got to the area where the cop has been setting up his speed trap. I looked around for a place to pull over, but there wasn't one, and, in his hurry, the driver behind me shot out to pass me. At least it was a broken yellow line. But, I'm sure he shot up to about 70 mph, at least to pass me.....and no sooner did he do so when a pair of headlights came on from the shoulder on the opposite side of the road.

I cringed. The State Trooper pulled out and around into my lane so fast and with so little caution I had to hit the brakes so as not to hit HIM. Then came the bubble lights, and around the corner, there sat poor Mr-In-a-Hurry with his window rolled down waiting for the police officer. I hope he hadn't been drinking. The speed limit there is 40 mph.

The Hub loved this story, but The Hub has passed many a "slow poke" in his day. The weird thing about me was that I didn't even feel relieved, let alone glad, that it was the other guy who got stopped this time. I just felt sorry for him.

THIS is the thing that made me mad: today I asked The Hub if he would take the car to another inspection station so I could take care of that ticket for the the tail light being out. Remember all the trouble the rotund little man at the service station gave me when I tried to get the car inspected there? Well, The Hub didn't want me to go back to that place. I explained to The Hub that, as a woman, I was going to be subject to a greater degree of scrutiny ( well, the car would be - I might have been 10 years ago, but not now) then he would be no matter where I took it.

I really wanted to get this taken care of, but my back, for some reason, was killing me this morning. It was left over from killing me last night - even sleeping on the floor didn't stop the spasming, and I was tired as well as in a lot of discomfort. I should have told The Hub that the reason why I didn't want to go was that my back hurt too much. But I never like to complain to him. Instead, I like to complain to you all who read me on the internet. But, you know, you don't have to live with me.

Anyway, I told The Hub I'd like him to do it because I didn't want to get the "Lady" run around. He insisted that I go with him. "I'll just go by myself" I said

"Come on, it will go faster if I take care of it. But you'll be there to answer any questions if they come up.

We wound up going to the police barracks, where The Hub had asked me NOT to take it the first time, since he was afraid they'd scrutinize the headlight he repaired and I'd wind up getting arrested or something. "For goodness sake" I groused, "I could have done this myself."

Nevertheless, I sat in the car while he went into the barrack with the inspection ticket. He came out a few minutes later. I expected to see a police officer come out behind him and gave him a questioning look, to which he grinned and gave me the "thumbs up". Let me also say that he had deliberately dressed as a "good ole boy" for this performance.

"Do we have to go around back or something?"

"Nope. It's all taken care of." he smiled

"Nobody even looked at it!"

"I guess they're busy. The officer just said, 'did you fix it?' and I said, 'yes sir' and he signed it and told me to send it to the MVA."

I don't know why that makes me so mad. It just does.