Life in the Show Me State

People in Missouri sure are friendly. Like the other day, when I was driving through there on my way home to Tennessee from Wyoming, out of nowhere, this lady flags me down and signals me to pull over. I was in a big hurry to get to the Mark Twain Museum before it closed that night, but she seemed awful insistent, so I did.

And they aren't kidding about that "Show Me" thing, either. First thing she wanted was for me to show her my drivers' license and proof of insurance. Okay, then...I've got nothing to hide, right? State Farm has insured me for the last twenty years. And the photo on my driver's license isn't all that bad this time, either.

My new friend, Officer Hoover, informed me that I was driving 79 MPH in a 65 MPH zone.

"I didn't think I was going *that* fast!" Honest, I didn't. I thought I was only going 75. And Mark Twain's Museum is only a little bit up the road in Hannibal. No harm done, right?

"You're welcome to come on back and look at the radar." Oh, I've never seen the inside of a state trooper's car before! Cool! By this time, I'd come to the sad conclusion that we weren't going to make it to the fair town of Hannibal in time to see the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens by the Mississippi River.

We talked for quite awhile in her police car, with her asking all kinds of questions. I mean, she all but offered me a Doctor Pepper. They even said our names over the radio. We're famous!

She wanted to know all about where I was coming from and what I was doing, traveling in a crammed pack car with two teenagers. I explained that we were on our way home from Wyoming and we'd been there to see family and friends.

"Oh, that's a Wyoming accent. You didn't sound like you were from Tennessee." Um, thanks? I think.

I thought about explaining that I wasn't the one with the accent. It's everyone else down here that has a Southern accent. But she was busy typing and I got distracted by the awesome color of purple she'd painted her nails.

Anyway, Trooper Hoover was insistent that I stay in touch. She even gave me a yellow, self-addressed envelope and a little form to sign and send back to her. Talk about prepared! She must have lots of friends, since she works at it so hard.

She walked me back to my car and told me to drive very safely. I was really under the impression that she meant it. Like I said, very friendly caring folks in Missouri!