A Great Week Ashore--Addendum: OPP Officer Stops Cap!

Some of those who "know" thought I left out an important snippet of our week ashore. As we were all waiting to board the Rotary Train in Orillia, one of the grandchildren who

was overdue for nap time started to melt down. His Mom (no names to protect the guilty) asked if I would go get the car-- a good mile and a long up hill away.

I gave up the train ride and hoofed off in 85 degree and 72% relative humidity weather. When a grandchild has a need, call Cap! By the time I got to the car, I was a sweaty mess. I started her up and headed back toward the train. Immediately after going through the second traffic signal where I had stopped carefully and dutifully waited until it turned green, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) pulled me over.

Now, you know, when you get stopped, your heart sometimes goes into your throat as you wonder what you're going to be charged with. In this case, I was very sure I had done nothing wrong and a blood pressure monitor would not have twitched. After a long wait, the officer who appeared to be about two years older than Gracie came to the window and explained my crime: operating a vehicle without a front license plate.

Of course, by the time he came to the window, he had figured out that Pennsylvania vehicles (Elizabeth's Suburban in this case) only have one license plate. So, he's not going to charge me. However, to follow protocol, having stopped me, he still needed to run my license, registration and insurance. My license--no problem. The regisitration and insurance--well, it wasn't my car. A Suburban is huge and has multiple compartments in the cockpit. I imagined myself searching high and low for the required documents. I told him it was my daughter's car and asked if I could call her to ask where she kept them: "Sure." So I called. Elizabeth, who typically takes my calls even when I unintentionally call her in the ER, didn't answer. Ok: I'll hunt. Wonder of wonders, they were the first place I looked. As Elizabeth explained later, "Of course they were. I keep them where you taught me to."

So, I'm a free man. And I shouldn't end this without saying that the OPP Officer couldn't have been nicer and more pleasant throughout the entire incident.