The life changing moments in my life are often ones that I never saw coming. One of those moments slapped my husband and I in the face as we were driving to Mississippi over the weekend to visit my grandparents.
While driving up the road, we were stopped by the police. In sheer confusion, we asked the officer what the problem was. He proceeded to inform us that our windshield wipers and our lights had to be on as the same time when driving in the rain. We expected him to give us a simple warning, tell us to turn on our lights, and send us on our merry little way. Instead, he asked my husband to get out of the car and get inside his patrol car. I sat in the car calm, but very concerned. This couldn’t be happening….not in 2008!
I waited patiently for about 5 minutes. The cop got out of the car leaving my husband in the passenger seat of his patrol car, came to my window and proceeded to tell me that he probably wasn’t going to write a ticket. He asked what we were doing ‘around these parts’, stuck his head in the car to look around, took note of the cooler, over night bag, and pillows and confirmed that we were indeed on a road trip.
My husband got out of the cop car, comes back to our car. I asked if he was okay…. Silence. I asked “what did he say to you?”…. Silence. Finally, he proceeded to tell me that the cop asked if he’d ever been to jail, did he have any warrants, ran his license, asked what he was doing ‘around these parts’, and asked if he’d ever been here before. He told him that this was a warning, to turn on his lights and have a good day.
We drove up the highway silently in disbelief about what happened. We arrived at my grandparent’s home, told them what happened and began a discussion about where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going. My dad ended the conversation with these encouraging words: “You did the right thing. You were respectful, and you didn’t loose your cool. Not many in the same situation would’ve handled it like that. You didn’t give them the satisfaction they were looking for.”
Until this past weekend, I had only heard about these stories through my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles…never did I expect for something like this to happen in my generation. We’ve come quite a long way, but this weekend proved to me that we have a long way to go!!
Ileah’s Inspiration Station Take-aways:
- Don’t let the ignorance of others affect your integrity!
- No matter what the situation, always do what’s right, when it’s right, because it’s right!
- Don’t get bitter, GET BETTER – The best revenge is success!
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