An Innocent Drive to the Mall

I had to find a dress for a wedding.  A tough job as it is. We thought we’d stop at Kohl’s on the Selinsgrove Strip before hitting the mall.

There were a few open parking spots close to the store. We pulled into one, and as I started to get out of the truck, I heard a voice say, “Stay in the vehicle.” At first I thought someone was pulling in next to us and didn’t want to hit the truck door. So I leaned the door in.  The voice repeated, “Stay in the vehicle.” I looked back and saw the flashing lights.  A State Police car was parked right up on our bumper.  How in the world did I miss it?  My husband didn’t notice it either. The policeman came over to Wayne’s side and said to both of us, “Put your hands where I can see them.” We quickly slapped our hands on the dash board. He asked that we not move until backup arrived.  Backup? No problem. We were frozen with fear. 

 A second car pulled up. He then asked Wayne to “step out of the car, sir.” They finally explained that they were looking for someone driving a similar vehicle. One of them said that they realized Wayne wasn’t the perpetrator because he didn’t have a ponytail. He added, “Although your hair is almost long enough to get it into a ponytail.” I found that very funny since just that morning, I told Wayne he needed a haircut. So I yelled that out the window to the policeman. He chuckled. At that point, everyone realized we weren’t in any trouble. As the first officer was running a check on Wayne’s license, I said to Officer #2 how exciting this was, and that I wished I had my camera. He laughed and asked if I’d like him to cuff Wayne – for the Christmas newsletter. 

All this time, people were walking through the parking lot, staring at us. I really hope no one I know saw us. Imagine the stories flying through our hometown.