Read This Slowly
Jack took a long look at his speedometer
before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone.
Fourth time in as many months.
How could a guy get caught so often?
When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour,
Jack pulled over, but only partially.
Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard.
Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror.
The cop was stepping out of his car,
the big pad in hand.
Bob? Bob from Church?
Jack sunk farther into his trench coat.
This was worse than the coming ticket.
A cop catching a guy from his own church.
A guy who happened to be a little eager
to get home after a long day at the office.
A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow.
Jumping out of the car,
he approached a man he saw every Sunday,
a man he'd never seen in uniform.
'Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this.'
'Hello, Jack.' No smile.
'Guess you caught me red-handed
in a rush to see my wife and kids.'
'Yeah, I guess.' Bob seemed uncertain.
Good.
'I've seen some long days at the office lately.
I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit -just this once.'
Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement.
'Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight.
Know what I mean?'
'I know what you mean..
I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct .'
Ouch.
This was not going in the right direction.
Time to change tactics.
'What'd you clock me at?'
'Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?'
'Now wait a minute here, Bob.
I checked as soon as I saw you.
I was barely nudging 65.'
The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.
'Please, Jack, in the car'
Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard.
He was in no rush to open the window.
The minutes ticked by.
Bob scribbled away on the pad.
Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license?
Whatever the reason,
it would be a month of Sundays
before Jack ever sat near this cop again.
A tap on the door jerked his head to the left.
There was Bob, a folded paper in hand.
Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches,
just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.
'Thanks.'
Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.
Bob returned to his police car without a word.
Jack watched his retreat in the mirror.
Jack unfolded the sheet of paper.
How much was this one going to cost?
Wait a minute.
What was this? Some kind of joke?
Certainly not a ticket. Jack began to read:
'Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter.
She was six when killed by a car.
You guessed it - a speeding driver.
A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free.
Free to hug his daughters,
all three of them.
I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until Heaven
before I can ever hug her again.
A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man.
A thousand times I thought I had.
Maybe I did, but I need to do it again.
Even now.
Pray for me.
And be careful, Jack,
my son is all I have left.'
'Bob'
Jack turned around in time to see
Bob's car pull away and head down the road.
Jack watched until it disappeared...
A full 15 minutes later, he too,pulled away and drove slowly home,
praying for forgiveness and
hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.
Life is precious.
Handle with care.
This is an important message;
please pass it along to your friends.
Drive safely and carefully.
Remember, cars are not the only things
recalled by their Maker.
Funny how you can send a thousand jokes
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire,
but when you start sending messages
regarding the sanctity of life,
people think twice about sharing.
Funny how when you go to forward this message,
you will not send it to many on your address list
because you're not sure what they believe,
or what they will think of you
for sending it to them.
Pass this on,
you may save a life..
Maybe not,
but we'll never know if we don't try.
May today there be peace within you.
May you trust God
that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
'I believe that friends are quiet angels
who lift us to our feet
when our wings
have trouble remembering how to fly.'
Just send this to (4) people
and see what happens on the fourth
The life you save may be ...
Your own child or grandchild.
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Comments: 55 ( 1 removed by ron h. )
"WELL, HERE WE ALL ARE........NOW WHAT??"
We have to take a VERY dangerous hwy to anywhere we want to go where shopping is concerned.
Going the speed limit we do, however others do not. We get flipped off, honked at on and on.
I wished those people would read this!! So these people stop killing themselves and others.
That has happened to us before lmbo!!
In our area people do not realize that some of these places are really towns, with slower speed limits. If the state cops wanted to fulfill there monthly quotas on speeding tickets it would only take them hours if not the day to do that on these roads out here lol!!
Or when you are on long trip and the SAME car keeps passing you EVERY hour.
Why do they always put those on the bottom of stuff they pass around?
Sorry it came across like I was talking about you. I goof up all the time when I'm trying to be funny. I was very glad you posted the article and I passed it on to others.
She said that it was very helpful in changing her attitude to speeding.
Me? I'm always a slow-coach now. I'd rather get there late than not at all!
MY LIFE WAS KIND OF LIKE THIS, NOT SURE ON WHAT TO EXPECT! I was 21 years old, raced cars, surfed, played most all sports, had a girl-friend and job, and was a great person. BUT, it was all gone because of a simple fall, just 4 ft. Nobody thought that this was going to happen to me. Due to this fall resulted in a Traumatic Brain Injury, coma, and eventually relearning everything over again! A person NEVER KNOWS what they really have until it is too late. If you would like to read a book I just published about my whole life visit http://SharingMiracles.net. It is called, "MY MIRACLE by Rodney Barnes." It is available on other websites, including BarnesandNoble (in stores and online). Just like the gentleman that had a wake-up call about his children, I had a wake-up call about several issues of life! A person needs to think about whats around them, make the right choices in life, and choose the best judgements that will allow them to move forward in a positive way... Thanks for this post! Rodney
Maybe you know, that we dont´t have a speed limit on many highways (Autobahn) in Germany?
Thanks for posting, Ron!
Thanks for sharing, We all need a wake up call.
I drove for many years without so much as a ticket, since the day I got my license. And then I started driving big trucks cross country. And I have to say, the view of you 4-wheelers from the cab of an 18-wheeler is very different than what you expected. You think you're a good driver, because you were able to slam the accelerator to the floor and cut off the truck as you entered the freeway. Or you think your skills are superior because you cut across 4 lanes of traffic - again, cutting off a truck - to get your exit, just in time. Some of you actually think it's a great idea to draft a truck at 70 mph. It's a good way to get killed. I've seen some amazingly stupid stuff in my years as a truck driver.
I've been involved in two collisions during my time as a commercial driver. The first one happened while I was a rookie in training. It was a hard winter rain storm in California, and the roads were slick. I was driving the truck back to Yuma, and my trainer and I had just gotten through the worst of Los Angeles traffic. I watched as one car after another passed me on the left. And then this white car attempted to pass. He never made it. He hydroplaned, and ended up sideways against my bumper. We were still traveling down the road at 45 mph when this happened. It scared me to death. This guy could have been killed, and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. He wasn't, though. But I bet his car was totaled.
The other collision was in New Jersey. I had picked up a load of orange juice and headed out of Newark. Traffic is always heavy over there, just like Los Angeles. This car was coming down the on ramp, oblivious to what she was doing. She was going to meet the underside of my trailer very soon if neither of us yielded some space. I couldn't change lanes, but I slowed and blew the air horn. That should get her attention. But no. She didn't accelerate to get the space I was trying to give her. I blew the horn again, slowing even more. I prayed, Dear God, let this not happen! And then it did. She bounced off of my step on the passenger side. She scraped along the concrete barrier, and bounced against my step again.
My hands were shaking as I pulled off to the narrow shoulder in front of her. My heart was racing, and I was afraid she could be badly injured. She wasn't, but she was clearly shaken, as well. This collision could have been prevented by her paying attention to what she was doing. My truck weighed right at 80,000 pounds. If I had not braked, she would have been under my trailer, and she would not have survived. This accident is one I will never forget. I hope she remembers it too. I hope she's a safer driver now.