80 Mile an Hour Turkeys

“I thought about the story of my Dad when he got arrested in Georgia soon after he was elected Governor.

“He had driven himself into South Georgia to go turkey hunting with some friends. About 10:30 in the morning he left in a hurry to get back to Tallahassee for an important press conference. He was in full camo gear with a chaw of tobacco in his mouth. He was probably doing about 80 outside some little town when a local cop pulled him over. My Dad quickly protested and told the trooper that he was the newly elected Florida Governor and he needed to be on his way. The local cop immediately got on the horn to his captain who arrived in short order. When my Dad explained who he was, the captain looked him over incredulously and said, “I’m going to have to give you a breathalyzer!

“He also alerted the media so the Georgia hospitality to the new Governor was complete. I remember when he finally arrived home an hour late for the media event, he got a call from the Governor of Georgia who apologized profusely. ‘We will be watching for you when you come to Florida,’ my Dad explained to him. We revoked his driving privileges when we saw all the stories about the event. The state police can drive as fast as they want but the Governor had better not."