Do I Look Like a Criminal?

This post has nothing to do with The House on the Hill, absolutely nothing. I just need to vent and Sister K. this is mainly for you. I need a beetch session.

Late yesterday afternoon I had to go get a few things. Things that could not be bought at the Dollar Store or Family Dollar or Lively's Grocery or Gregerson's Foods or CVS. These are the fine shopping establishments at the little town closest to the House on the Hill. I'm not kidding either, if you want to shop in town, that is it. Otherwise you drive about 20 miles to a slightly bigger town and go to WalMart or KMart. Anything else, be prepared to go for the day, Atlanta one way, Birmingham another way and Chattanooga still another way, take your pick. But today was a small town WalMart day and I really don't like WalMarts, so it wasn't the best of days already.

It was dusk, and I was almost home, driving down this road - the road is on the left, that's the Chief Ladiga Trail on the right.



This is the last hardroad on the way home before turning onto the little winding road into our valley and when I come home from the east this is the view I drive into. Heading home, back into our hills. I have as of yet to take it for granted and it always fills me with a sense of peace and contentment.

Yesterday however on the road ahead, I saw blue flashing lights. Lots of them. I thought, "Uh oh, an accident. Looks like it's caused a traffic jam." So, I pulled into a driveway, stopped and tried to see what was going on and then decided to just avoid it by turn around so I could drive back about a half a mile and take a back road that connects back up to the road to our little valley about 2 miles further ahead.

I was driving along about 5 miles below the speed limit. I don't drive fast, especially on those roads. I don't drive recklessly. I don't carry contraband or illegals in my grandmotherly white van. I have a driver's license and carry full coverge auto insurance. I have had 1 ticket about 25 years ago. I have never been the cause of an accident. I'm pretty much boring. Around here we like boring.

I was not surprised to look in my rearview mirror and see a state trooper's car flying towards me with his lights on. I automatically pulled over thinking he needed to get past me - fast - you know, go get that bad guy. I then noticed that there were two state trooper's cars behind him. All with their lights on. I rolled to a stop on the side of the road and realized they had ALL pulled over behind me. Then they ALL got out of their cars and put their hands on their weapons and gathered at the first car. By the way, they were ALL wearing trooper style hats and mirrored shades. Tough guys. The one in the first car started walking up to me in a kind of sideways fahion against the side of my van and still with his hand on his weapon. I opened the door, leaned out and said, "What's going on officer, is there a problem." At this point in my head I was still thinking some weird accident/chemical spill?.....escaped prisoner?....overturned truck on the bridge? etc.

Instead the office said in a very hard voice, "Ma'am can you step out of the car, we saw you turn around to avoid our roadblock and we want to know why?" A roadblock? How in the world was I supposed to know it was a roadblock, it was a half a mile away at least. Which I proceeded to tell the officer and then told him that I thought it was an accident and I was just wanting to avoid the scene. He stood and looked at me, a 57 year old grandmother with salt and pepper hair and bifocals that drives a grandmotherly white van, like I had something to hide. Hardened criminal that I am, it took 3 of those tough guys to bring me to a stop.

In the same hard voice he said, "Ma'am can I see your license." Meanwhile, I noticed one of the officers talking into the radio. Then the first officer took my license back to his car and showed it to him and the 3 officers had a small conference and I heard something about "no outstanding warrants." All the while, I am standing against my car waving at people as they drive by and feeling very intimidated almost terrorized. The first officer walked back and gave me my license and said in the same hard, rude voice, "Ma'am, usually when someone avoids our roadblock they have a reason why. Next time just use common sense and proceed through the roadblock."

I was in total disbelief, I would never have avoided a roadblock had I seen one! I was chased down by 3 state troopers with flashing lights and did not avoid their obvious intent to pull me over. I spoke to him cordially and voluntarily did everthing he asked me to while pulled over. I was made to stand at the side of the road against my van with all the blue lights still flashing, about 1 mile from my home with my neighbors driving by heading to their homes.

Here I am a grandmother only trying to proceed in a cautious manner while trying to avoid a nasty accident scene is told by this little Hitler type, (who looked all of 12) to next time just proceed through the roadblock and to use COMMON SENSE . Like I had committed a crime!!!!! All of this was delivered in the same hard, rather arrogant, rude tone. Excuse me, but I considered avoiding a congested traffic accident scene total COMMON SENSE. Being told to use common sense offended me - I think always use common sense. Almost always.

Did I do anything at all that warranted rude treatment? I understand the need to stop someone who seems to be avoiding a road block and I understand the need to see my license and to check my plates. But when he realized that the criminal he had pulled over really was just a grandmother on her way home from buying groceries would it have been too much trouble for this officer, who is in essence an employee of the taxpayers - that's me - to have been more courteous. When he realized that I really had turned around to avoid messy traffic would it have been too much to simply say "Sorry, we troubled you." Did he really need to act like he was getting ready to throw me on the ground, cuff me and search me?

So what do you think, do I look like a criminal?