Age Served
Friday night a couple of young friends, Alex Tudor and Ady Ilie, from Bucharest drove to Sibiu, Romania to bring me to Bucharest. Well, on the way to Bucharest we passed through some terrific scenery in the rugged Carpathian Mountains. One long stretch goes alongside a river with the road becoming a bridge for a while, then, back to clinging to the side of a rocky cliff.
Did I tell you about the trucks in Romania? Please! Two lane roads are the norm for this country. So, it means you follow trucks and you pass them one-by-one. Oops! My driver, Alex, saw a straight stretch and gunned it to get around a truck. What was wrong with this is that he passed on a double line. Yep, you guessed it! The police were perched on the only pullover that there was for miles. They saw us!
Pulled over ... waiting while the Romanian cops were giving my young friend a lecture ... my other friend was listening ... bad news! The cops were taking the drivers license away!! Not only that, there was a big fine, a very big fine. Devastating for a young Romanian worker on a small salary!
Then, one of the policemen came to our car and started talking to me in Romanian. I know six words in Romanian and he did not use one of these precious words.
"I speak English," I said.
He spoke to me in English and asked if my young friend was a safe driver. I affirmed that he is, but, my response seemed quite weak considering what had just happened. He wanted to know where I live and what I do and I told him.
He returned to the police car and told his colleague not to take the driver’s license!
My friend in the back seat listened to the conversation between the two policemen, then, he told me what was said. “Let him go! There is an old guy in the car and he is nice. Give him his license back because of the old guy.”
Old guy???!!!
Sigh!
Age was served again … I think. Sigh!
My young friends love to tell this story …
Eric
Did I tell you about the trucks in Romania? Please! Two lane roads are the norm for this country. So, it means you follow trucks and you pass them one-by-one. Oops! My driver, Alex, saw a straight stretch and gunned it to get around a truck. What was wrong with this is that he passed on a double line. Yep, you guessed it! The police were perched on the only pullover that there was for miles. They saw us!
Pulled over ... waiting while the Romanian cops were giving my young friend a lecture ... my other friend was listening ... bad news! The cops were taking the drivers license away!! Not only that, there was a big fine, a very big fine. Devastating for a young Romanian worker on a small salary!
Then, one of the policemen came to our car and started talking to me in Romanian. I know six words in Romanian and he did not use one of these precious words.
"I speak English," I said.
He spoke to me in English and asked if my young friend was a safe driver. I affirmed that he is, but, my response seemed quite weak considering what had just happened. He wanted to know where I live and what I do and I told him.
He returned to the police car and told his colleague not to take the driver’s license!
My friend in the back seat listened to the conversation between the two policemen, then, he told me what was said. “Let him go! There is an old guy in the car and he is nice. Give him his license back because of the old guy.”
Old guy???!!!
Sigh!
Age was served again … I think. Sigh!
My young friends love to tell this story …
Eric
posted by Eric Murphy at 28.3.09
3 Comments:
So that's why you guys were delayed on your trip back. I thought is was because you stopped somewhere for a big dinner!
Oh, I agree with that policeman! You - and your dear Lynne - are special and nice people. May our good Lord bless you as you continue following him ....
Listen, we gray-beards and gray-heads need to stick together. Besides, Scripture honors us in our agedness...if I could only remember where it found, I'd list it!
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