My Last West Coast Wednesday

I've been practicing a song for Maudie's wedding in August. My fingers are raw since it's been so long since I have played the guitar. These guys have been my inspiration for the song:

This past Wednesday was the last West Coast Wednesday for me. It's sad. I loved busting into some 3 hours of non-stop West Coast Swing. Paula from Grand Rapids went with me again this week. She lead me through a few songs, so that was fun to be the follower for once. I have never gotten lost on the drive back to Grand Rapids, but for some reason amidst all the construction we took an exit that sent us to a bridge. It was a big bridge with lots of lights. It had a weird name, "The Bridge to Canada." I was sure that I had never seen that before. So I drove around until I saw signs for our road and we eventually got back on track.

But we had wasted so much time being turned around in Detroit that I was booking it to get home. It was 2AM. There was no one on the road. I mean no one - for miles. Which is why I was surprised when I saw headlights show up in my rear view mirror very suddenly. They were ridding my tail. As soon as I realized that those were the headlights of a Crown Vic, the cop put his flashers on. Poop.

I have never been pulled over for speeding ever. One time I got pulled over in Wilmore because the cop thought I was drunk (I wasn't). But the biggest ticket I have ever received was a $25 parking ticket. I pulled over and turned my truck off, turned on the cab light and put both hands clearly visible on the stearing wheel. I had read that that is what you're supposed to do when you get pulled over on the Lexington Police Department's website.

The cop came up to the cab and shined his flashlight in my face. He was quite friendly. He asked me what I was doing and why a Kentucky boy was in Michigan. I asked him if he had ever heard of XXXChurch and he said he hadn't. So I explained that it was an organization that helps people stop looking at porn and he asked, "Are they the ones who do the Porn Debate with Ron Jeremy?" I was like, "Yeah, that's us!" He laughed and started to go back to his cruiser with my license and registration and stopped and turned to ask, "Do you know why I pulled you over tonight?" I smiled and said, "Yeah, I was going a little fast." "Yeah, I clocked you going 81. I'll be right back." The speed limit was 70. But I was trying to get us home before 4AM since we had wasted so much time being lost in Detroit.

After about 5 minutes, the cop came back and asked, "So what's a 'war driver'?" I have "Proud to be a war driver" written on the back of my truck. I started to explain that it's a person who takes a laptop with a wireless access card and drives around town and plots wireless access points on a map." He gave a confused look and asked, "Why?" Strange. Of all the people who have asked me what a war driver was, no one has ever asked why. "Uh, well, it just a hobby." I don't think he heard me because something caught his attention and he turned his flashlight off. He was staring intently into the darkness just off the highway. "Somebody's over there." With his gaze fixed in the darkness, he soved my documents to me and ran off to his cruiser and sped off.

I did not receive a speeding ticket that night.