How fast was I going?

I got off work Friday extra late and had to run down to Hooterville to pick up the book I requested on inter-library loan. Now books like this cannot be taken out in the branch library in Fletcher, they require a trip to the main library. When they arrive they start the 3 week clock running and if you don't return them by then to the nazi at the reference desk they come to your house and take your glasses. The book I requested was is called "In Praise of Slowness". It is about how our hectic world is making us all crazy. Then I had to zoom over to Wally-World (Wal-Mart) aka The Alamo, because of all the Mexicans there, and get dog food and a dog dish. The dog food and dish wil be part of a later blog; my doctor has recommended I not post about that for 28 days. The same amount of time as my re-hab program.

I'm scooting along in my sporty red Element trying to save gas by driving in 5th gear when I notice I'm going 55mph. Yipes. So I go down to 4th and am cruising at 45, which seems appropriate for the 6 lane road I'm on. I go on for another mile or so. I'm in the left lane at a light and I notice a police car behind me with his lights on. I think he must have gotten an emergency call so I pull over to the right lane, and so does he, so I pull over into a Jiffy Lube and he follows me in. Now I'm starting to think I'm in trouble. I don't remember leaving my Bible on the car roof. Well, I am busted. Going 54 in a 35 zone in the pouring rain. I'm trying to mount some feeble defense. I tell the officer I'm new to the area, I thought the speed limit was 45. I usually just go with traffic in this area, but no other cars where around me ( of course not, I left them in the dust at the last stop light). He takes all my info and goes back to his patrol car and is looking me up on SMODS (State Municipal Offender Data System). The officer is back there about 5 minutes and I'm thinking I'm cooked. I'm looking over at the book about SLOWNESS sitting on the seat and wondering if I should have mounted "new blood-pressure medicine defense", when the officer returns. He asks me If I have had any tickets in the last 25 years; I say no. If he had gone back 35 years it would have said: License revoked detain driver and impound vehicle. So I got off with a warning and a short lecture. This is pretty rare in North Carolina.
The real pay-off was when I got home and told the Censor. The Censor was stunned that I pulled it off again. She gets tickets for going 4 mph over the limit while she's pregnant and has an infant in a car seat and a Support Your Local Police bumper sticker on the car. Well, I finished 2 chapters in my book "In Praise of Slowness". I'm not sure I'll finish it; it reads kind of slow!