Hilarity on the Highway

Let me preface this by saying that I don't travel very much, at least not out of the country. At least not at my age where I still have a lot of travelling to do and sights to see. But I'm posting this here because it does have something related to reading and it's funny.

Lately though, every year, we've tried to be at a certain place in Vermont which required lots of driving, many times straight through without much stopping. All 16 hours or so of it.A couple of years ago, something happened during our travels which will always stay with me. It's one of those moments where you just smile at what life decided to throw at you.

Sixteen hours is a long drive, and we all need to stop and take a leak, even if we're a little too quiet in the process. That summer, we were 3 in a rented minivan with my Dad doing the driving. I was in the front seat, quietly immersed in a book which I couldn't pry my eyes away from.

Brother in the back was as quiet as a mouse, also quite immersed in a book of his choosing. One of the few stops was getting gas, and so we pulled over to a gas station, in Rutland, Vermont, I think it was. Well, whaddya know, he needs to take a leak, and so he quietly, without making a sound, opens the sliding door and walks to the restroom.

Again, I say, I'm immersed in my own book, and I don't notice what's happening around me. After getting the gas pumped and paying for it, my Dad comes back and we drive off.

Fast forward to about 2 hours later, maybe less, and we get flashing lights in the rear view mirror. I glance over at my Dad and it seems like I can almost read his thoughts. "Huh? Is it legal to get gas in Vermont?", I could hear his mind say. Needless to say, we were both very puzzled as to what we did wrong.

Not one, but two cruisers had been sent for us. Wow, that's hardcore. It was actually kind of cool to hear that there were two of them sent for us. Well, when they knew they had found us, one of them turned back towards where he came from. As the lone officer walked up to us, my Dad rolled down the window. "Would you have by any chance left your son at a gas station?", the officer asks. Surely, he must have had the wrong vehicle, right? I mean, we're not the kind of people to leave our family members behind, at gas stations of all places. No, that would just be cruel. So, as I start to turn my head and look in the backseat to confirm my thoughts, I start saying, "No, he's right here...", a pause of unbelief spread across my face as I caught my fumble as I saw the unfortunate truth. "No, wait a minute! He's not!", I exclaimed.

Silence. Cold, hard truthful silence during those next few moments, and then the officer laughed as we thanked him and turned around back towards the gas station. Unfortunately, this delayed our destination by 2 hours. The upside is that we got my brother back all safe and sound. When we got to the gas station, he took it all in stride, and it seemed that the owner of that station, with a smile that looked like it was out of a cartoon, had a laugh at the situation too.

This adventure had even become the stuff of legends at our destination, even to the point of being featured in a newsletter and it's not something my Dad will ever live down.

The moral of the story here is: Make some noise and don't be so quiet when on a road trip. You'll never know if you'll be left behind.