Some years ago, there was a speed limit of 25 mph going through Mac’s Creek; it has changed, but at the time, you could cruise the highway at your normal 60 mph and all of a sudden, there was the speed limit staring at you in the face, along with the blue and red lights of a cruiser, just waiting for you to exceed the limit. There was very little time to change gears and slow down if you were not aware of the sign.
Grumpy was transporting prisoners from the County Jail to another jail in the Northeast of the state this one day when I received a call from the Sheriff’s department letting me know Grumpy had stopped in Camdenton’s County Jail after feeling nauseous and unable to continue the trip to his destination. I was alarmed, but the clerk said it was not an emergency, just needed to get someone else to continue the drive.
At the time I was driving a 1998 Buick Le Sabre automatic with over 160,000 in the odometer; I was asked to drive to the Cedar County Jail and one of the deputies would accompany me to pick up Grumpy and bring him home while the deputy continued the drive to their destination.
Dutifully, I arrived at the County jail when a uniformed deputy climbed in the car and said: “GO”! We drove on the State highway to meet US Highway 54 East and I stepped on the accelerator following highway speeds. After all, I had a deputy watching the road and didn’t need a speeding ticket while he was sitting on the passenger’s seat.
He sat quietly for a while, and once we hit US Highway 54, he said to step on it! He didn’t mean follow highway speeds; he meant all the way where my shoe meets the road. I did, and soon the Buick was going 100 – 110 MPH. What a thrill, to be able to go through Mack’s Creek at 100 MPH and not be afraid of getting a speeding ticket. Wahoo!
We arrived in Camdenton, not in one hour, but in 35 minutes; picked up Grumpy, sat him in the car and I felt crestfallen to realize now I had to follow highway speeds; Mack’s Creek was waiting for me to exceed the speed limit. It took longer than one hour to arrive at home, but I will never forget the thrill of the speed on US Highway 54.
Grumpy laughed and laughed when I related the story about the deputy asking me to floor the gas pedal; once we arrived at home he felt better, and it didn’t take too long for him to regain his stamina once again and continue working with the Sheriff’s department.
Every time we drive through Mack’s Creek, I can’t help but smile at the memory of the day I drove through at over 100 MPH. What a thrill.
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