Young, Dumb and much later, Fun

Today was raw cold when I got up and I decided that it would be the best if I stayed inside and did something constructive, like pestering the pups. They didn't want to go out either and we all settled into the TV.
About 9:00 I got a call from an old friend. When I answered the phone he began by saying "lets go for a ride". My reply was lets not and tell everyone that we did. He laughed and agreed. He was working on an old Honda and was looking for parts. We visited for about an hour about his project, the weather and the "good old days". He reminded me of some of the trips we took together and some of the silliness we got into. It was a good visit and we hung up promising that we'd get together on a warmer day for a ride.
His call reminded me of a lot of good ridin times as I was growing up. One in particular stuck out for him as it does me and since it's too cold for me to be out doing something...
When I was about 15 I had an old Triumph-Harley-Honda cross breed that I was riding around. For some reason I had some money and after talking with a couple of friends I was decided that I should head for Beer. Now living in a rural area and in a dry county that meant a "Bootlegger".
There were several people in the county that were known to sell beer and one of them, a woman, named Jean lived six or 7 miles from me. She was pretty easy going in that she knew my parents and if I ever got too far out of line, well, it always kept me in line.
As I remember the ride over was mostly back roads to keep off the highway and reduce the chance of running into the Trooper. The Trooper we had in our area was an alright guy. He was never too hard on any of us that I remember. He would make you pour out your beer though and that always hurt. Especially when you didn't have a job and money was always tight.
Anyway, I made it over to Jeans place in one piece and made a purchase. "Old Milwaukee in the 14 oz cans". That was our thing, two extra ounces for the same price. I got it all rolled up in my sleeping bag and tied on. And was chatting a little when the world as I knew it ended. The County Sheriff and a Deputy and the afore mentioned Trooper pulled into Jeans driveway. They had another man with them that I didn't know. The Sheriff got out and looked over at me and said "just set still a minute". (I never will forget those words.) He walked Jean over towards the house and they got into a conversation and it got heated real fast. She was cusin and hollering and pointing at the man in the car. Finally she calmed down her and the Sheriff, Deputy and Trooper all went into the house. Figuring I was going to Jail I started to think up stories to tell my parents and ways to get the beer off my bike without getting caught. Just about the time I had my nerve up, the Deputy came out and over to me. He asked me my name and I told him. He knew my folks and I knew then that it was all over. Then, he says, "Jean says your broke down","You need to make a call to your folks or something"? Thinking the fastest I have ever had a though in my life, I said no, I think that I can limp it home if I don't get it too hot. He asked what was wrong with my ride. I lied like a dog in the sunshine and told him I was low on oil. Guess I'd pushed it too hard coming back from Russellville. He asked what kind of oil I took and I said Quaker 30. He though for a second and turned and went over to his car and opened the trunk. Couple of seconds later he handed me a quart of Quaker 30 and said maybe this will help. If your not too low. Again, thinking pretty quick, I said thanks and went about "overfilling" my bike. Just as I was finishing pouring in the oil the Sheriff and Trooper and Jean walked out. Jean wasn't looking any too happy and got into the Deputies car. This seemed to make the guy in the Sheriffs car happy. The Sheriff came over to me and said "you going to be able to get that wreck home"? I said I think so if I take slow. He nodded and said be careful and started back to his car. The trooper came up to me and asked how old I was. When I told him 15, he looked hard at me and said, "Hit the back roads and don't let me catch you on the Highway again"!
I fired up and bounced down Jeans driveway to the pavement and headed out like I was on fire.
A couple of weeks later I found out that the man in the Sheriffs car had had a run in with Jean and she wouldn't sell him any beer and he had gone to the law. They caught her with 24 cases of beer and several bottles of hard liquor. She was fined heavily and didn't do any Jail time.
I also found out several years later that the Law knew what I was really doing there. At the time I found this out it was a joke to them. They were laughing about how scared I was as at the time. They were even having a pretty good time all these years later while they were telling me about it. Seems at the time they just didn't want to have to mess with me and my folks and all that it took to charge a Juvenile.
I don't remember much other than being sure that I was going to Jail and, later, how good that "old Milwaukee" tasted as I drained out a quart of oil from my bike. My buddies thought it was a pretty cool deal, my close brush with the law. They also agreed that it would probably be best if we all laid low for a while. I stayed off the highway until I got my license and still kept a pretty it low for a while. Jean moved out of our area and I haven't seen her in several years. I never forgot her taking care of a customer and if shes still alive, hope shes doing well.
It's kind of funny the things you get into as a kid. Especially when you find out that people, like the Sheriff, Deputy and Trooper had all, Been there, done that, long before you ever thought about it.
Hope to catch ya on a warmer day on the road