NO LIFE BUT THIS: A Novel of Emily Warren Roebling is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.


It is biographical fiction based on the life of Emily Warren Roebling considered to be the first female field engineer and highly instrumental in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.


http://atbosh.com/authors/diane-vogel-ferri/

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Get Outta my Way!

I don't know why but I've always been in a hurry - my whole life. I used to blame it on being a mom, but my kids aren't around for me to hurry home to anymore, now are they? I think about it two ways: One, I get a lot of stuff done because I hate wasting time. I'm always done with my work at the crack of 3:45 (the contractual moment we can leave the building). I hurry and get all my weekly chores out of the way on Saturday morning so I can have the rest of the weekend to obsess about this blog. (At one point in my life I had to learn to be okay with forcing myself to waste a little time now and then.)
The second way I look at it is I get a lot of speeding tickets - which is bad. A relative is a cop and he generously hands out FOP cards at Christmas once in a while. I could probably win the World Record for being in possession of that thing the least amount of time. Last year it was a few weeks. This year I had it 13 days before I saw a cop coming the other way then screech his tires to make a U turn so he could follow me until my heart almost burst out of my chest. Then finally the blue lights came on. I pulled over. What the hell do they do in their car for the next 15 minutes while you are sitting there trying not to totally freak? I mean, it's just a ticket, so why do I react as though he were going to jump out his car and start beating me senseless with a billy club?
It gave me time to come up with a plan though. First, I put my seat belt on. Then I retrieved my license, my FOP card and my insurance card. When he walked up to the window I splayed them out like playing cards, with the magic card in the middle. He took them, looked, and said, "OK just slow down."
And he gave the card back to me! So technically I can use it again, but here's the thing - I think my New Year's resolution should be: Driver Slower Dummy!
PS An FOP card is a courtesy card from the Fraternal Order of Police. I guess it's uncool not to honor it among policemen - thank goodness for me!

3 comments:

Moohaa said...

Love that story. What is a FOP card? I, too, tend to have a lead foot. I can't help it. I actually got a speeding ticket for the second time in 13 years last May. With hubby and the kids in the car. Ugh, very embarrassing.

I don't know if I'm in a hurry as much as I am anal about time. On time, done in time, there on time, whatever it is, I do it on time.

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard of an FOP card?

CRUSTY MOM-E said...

this post made me laugh because My mom has mentioned on more than one occasion to just slow down...surprisingly when I drive, I drive TOO SLOW..but that's at fault to a driver that hit me a couple years ago..since than, I've been so scared of being in another car accident...I argue with my husband that I have defensive driving skills, he just rolls his eyes and says, more like paranoia skills..he's right..but the accident had been dreadful to me.
Always,
Elizabeth