The substance of today’s endeavor was sent to us by our friend Sweet Old Laurie.

That’s right. Sweet Old Laurie is how he refers to himself. The origins of that appellation I know not.

We met Laurie a few years ago when we saw him after church one Sunday just standing outside looking at the building. Turns out he had lived here as a youngster many, many years ago. His father was in the sawmill business. Laurie was still a lad when the family moved. He has retained a lot of memories of his time here. He went to John Small School, and the family attended the Methodist Church.

When we met Laurie, he was a widower, and was on a “bucket list” trip, visiting places that had been a part of his life.

A graduate of Virginia Tech (VPI then), and an avid Hokie (Gobblers then) fan, Laurie keeps up with the athletic fortunes of his alma mater. Our occasional email exchanges allow us to stay in touch.

Now to that which Sweet Old Laurie passed along to us:

The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing and stopped at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman behind him was furious and honked her horn, screaming frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, “I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, giving the guy in front of you the finger and cursing at him. I noticed the What Would Jesus Do bumper sticker, the Choose Life license plate holder, the Follow Me to Sunday School bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian Fish emblem on the trunk. So naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”

PRICELESS!