I get a little charged up when I'm pulled over by the police. Of course it brings up a few memories. But I'm reasonably sober these days: haven't drunk in over forty years, and don't get high even except maybe every few years or so. In any case, I was quite sober tonight.

But as I pulled out onto highway 150 at about ten o'clock, according to the policeman, I swerved across the line. That sounds like something I would do, I said, and I told him how my small car tends to swerve a bit even when I'm sober. It blows in the wind. I have to concentrate. So I admitted as how I might be guilty and he said he'd check my license and maybe write me a warning.

I had to get out of the car, because my cochlear implant battery had died and it was impossible for him to talk to my left ear, and impossible for me to turn around enough to use the right one. He seemed to have enough of a view of what was in there to not be suspicious though. Really I only had one teen who wouldn't look away from his phone.

It occurred to me that the teen, who we've been fostering, could have had enough issues himself that he didn't want to get involved. It could have been that he was not squeaky clean either and just didn't want to let on. It occurred to me that I really didn't know, but that I knew my own end, me and my car, we were clean. So as I stood there, I told him how I'd just seen him at the convenience store, where I was buying four sodas, one for my son and one for each boy I've been fostering or taking care of, and I think by the time he heard that he decided I wasn't worth bothering with. He was looking for a DUI. I was not a DUI. He pretty much said that.

I actually like most of the policemen I've met around here. They don't seem to have that jaded meanness that they do in other places. They do their job but they're also willing to let you go if they pulled you over by mistake, which has happened to me twice now. I swear they might just be pulling me over because they don't know me. Three years here, on highway 150 six times a day, maybe they just want me to prove I'm not trouble. But that's ok. The way I see it they're doing their job and as long as they're not out there targeting me or making me angry I'm ok with it. Maybe they just want to see how I respond to their flashlight all over me.

Not sure if this guy was Knoxville or Galesburg; he could have been either or they could be the same at 10:00 pm. He seemed to accept my explanation that I was from Galesburg and my boys were out in Knoxville. Glad it was me, not them. They're dying to get cars and are as irresponsible as God makes 'em.