Posted by Michelle on July 12, 1999 at 19:16:12:

It was just last week that I was driving my friend Benita's Jeep CJ. My car was being worked on and she let me borrow her car so I could get to work.

It was about 3:00pm and I managed to get off early which was nice as the traffic would be fairly light. I was wearing a blue top, white skirt and had on some wood platform slides with white wide straps. I left the store where I worked and got in the Jeep. The weather has been quite warm so Benita had the top removed and the doors were off also. I hoped in the Jeep, shook my feet out of my shoes then placed them on the passenger seat. The Jeep is only about 2 years old and runs quite good. It is black and has larger than normal tires on it. It is also a stick shift.

Anyway, I cranked the Jeep up, put it in gear, then exited the parking lot. I went several blocks then made my way onto the freeway. The traffic was not heavy yet so I really buried my light red painted toes deep into the Jeeps gas pedal, speed shifting my way through the gears. It was such a fun vehicle to drive. Slow cars were in front of me so I weaved my way around the slowpokes. I then noticed a state trooper come up aside of me, looked over at me, then slowed up a bit and got behind me. He then turned on his lights and had me pull over. "Oh shit!" I thought to myself. "What did I do wrong". I eased my way over to the right and start to slow down, downshifting as I went. I finally got the Jeep to a stop and nervously awaited the cop.

The cop got out of his car and walked towards my vehicle. A few seconds latter, he was at my side, asking me for my drivers license and insurance. I dug the license out of my purse and looked in the glovebox for the insurance. While I did this, my feet remained pressed in on the clutch and brake pedals, my heels rising high in the air. I could not the insurance in the glovebox but then found it tucked in the sun visor. I then gave it to the young trooper. He was looking at my documents and I could also see him sneaking a peek at my barefeet on the Jeeps pedals. I then asked him what I did wrong. He said I was speeding about 10 miles over the speed limit and made several improper lane changes. Seeing him continuing to look at my feet, I then decided to make a comment. "Oh, I am very sorry about the speeding. I always seem to be driving faster when I am barefoot." I said. "Well miss, it is not legal to drive barefooted in this state. You need to put your shoes on." I knew he was full of it but went along with him. I put the Jeep in neutral and then reached over to the passenger seat for my slides. I then placed them on my feet. Once I had them on, I then placed my left foot back on the clutch, then gave the gas a few presses. He noticed how the heel of my slide lifted off my heel as I pushed the clutch in towards the floorboard. "Gee, I hope I can drive in these HARD to drive in shoes" I said. The trooper just stood there, staring at my now high heeled feet. He was kind of cute. "Gee miss, it looks like it could be kind of difficult to drive in those. Go ahead and take them off. I then lifted up each leg and slipped off each shoe and placed them back on the seat. He then went back to looking at the insurance papers. After about a minute with me pumping the pedals a little bit, he handed the documents back to me. "Well miss, I will just give you a warning this time. Slow it down and be a little more carefull" the trooper said to me. "Thank you officer, I surely will" I said nicely. I then put the jeep in gear and he watched as my bare left foot let out the clutch as I sank my toes into the gas pedal. I then merged back into traffic and made my way home. "Whew, got out of that one!" I said to myself. I then began to think about the young state trooper. I wonder if he pulled it that night? I went to sleep that night replaying the whole scenario in my head. It was kind of fun!

Michelle