“We Have A Law…”
It was during the “dog days” of summer. My uncle and I had spent the bigger part of the day fishing for trout in Cherokee, NC. The streams were running pretty well as there had been a sufficient amount of rain in the days preceding our adventure. Fortunately for us, the fishing had been good, as both of us had been able to catch our limits. We were pleased with our catches as we were preparing for a “fish fry” with several guests planning to attend in just a few days. The day was well spent. After preparing the fish for the journey home, we headed across Soco Gap towards our Haywood County homes. We were riding in my uncle’s pickup truck. He was driving.
We had almost made it up the mountain when things got interesting. We met a law enforcement vehicle coming down the mountain towards us. The vehicle went by us. The law officer immediately found a suitable place to turn around, in order to pull in behind us. Both my uncle and I were watching him and were wondering about his actions. He then turned on his blue lights, indicating that he wanted us to pull over. My uncle got real nervous and anxious. He said a few choice words as he pulled off the shoulder of the road at the first wide-space we came to. After we stopped, we watched as the officer got out of his car, put on his hat, and slowly walked up beside the truck; on the driver’s side. My uncle had rolled down the window in preparation. When the officer got to the window, the officer asked for my uncle’s driver’s license and the registration for the truck. Nervously, my uncle removed the license from his wallet and handed it to the officer. As instructed by my uncle, I retrieved the registration card from the glove box and passed it to my uncle in order for him to hand it to the officer. Once the officer received the requested documents, he turned and slowly walked back to his vehicle.
It seemed as though the officer was seated in his vehicle a very, very long time. My uncle was really anxious. He and I discussed the probable reasons for having been stopped. We were not intoxicated. We had not been speeding. My uncle was driving on his side of the highway. The truck had been properly licensed and had an up-to-date safety inspection sticker on the lower driver’s side windshield, as required by the law. When he pulled off the highway, he had turned on his turn signals, they were working as they should. We had no idea as to the reason the officer had pulled us over.
After several anxiety-driven minutes of waiting, we saw the officer get out of his car and start walking back toward us. He seemed to be in slow-motion. Finally (!), he stepped up to the window next to my uncle. He said, “Here are your license and registration. Everything is in good order.” Then he turned and started to walk away, with no further comments. My uncle said, “Excuse me officer, but if everything is in good order, why in the world did you pull us over?” The officer stopped, turned around, and came back to the window. He then said, “Well it’s like this, Mr. Davis. I don’t know whether you are aware of it but we have a law, here in North Carolina, which states that anything that hangs more than six-feet over the end of a truck-bed must have a red flag tied on it; even if it is a fish tail (tale).”