Just The Ticket For Happiness

Dear Ann Landers: You recently printed a how-we-met story about a woman who got a traffic ticket and wound up marrying the police officer. Ready for the reverse flip?

I’m a female law enforcement officer. As I was beginning my shift early one Sunday morning, I noticed a long, black limousine parked across the alley from the police station. Thinking there might be some criminal activity, I approached the driver and inquired about his reason for being in a “No Parking” area behind business establishments that were closed.

The uniformed chauffeur explained that he rented the adjacent garage on weekends and had just finished an all-night charter for some clients. I pointed out the infraction he was committing, and then, we chatted briefly about how we both disliked working Sundays because it kept us away from church. He invited me to visit his church with him when I had a Sunday free.

Six months later, I accepted his invitation. A year after that, we were married. Twelve years later, he still tells people that he got a life sentence for being illegally parked. - Still Protecting and Serving in California

Dear California: What a delightful story. Long may you protect and serve.

Dear Ann Landers: Can you stand one more “how we met” story? As a young musician from Grand Island, Neb., I came to Chicago in 1965 to join a traveling dance band, the Tiny Hill Orchestra.

I was the youngest member of the band and was assigned a roommate who was much older. We hit it off and quickly became good friends, despite the difference in our ages.

As we traveled, I noticed that he was always telephoning someone. I was curious and asked him about it. He said that he was calling “his kid,” that she had just graduated from high school and lived in Chicago and that he wanted me to meet her when we got back to town.

“His kid” and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Her father has been gone for many years, but he was always my friend first, my fatherin-law second. - Dan Windolph in Chicago

Dear Dan: Thanks for a lovely story. Happy anniversary to you and “the kid.”

Dear Ann Landers: When I saw your letter about auto-train accidents, I had to write. You agreed with a reader who said victims of these accidents “volunteered” to be killed. This is not always true.

The parallel lines of train tracks create an illusion in which the train appears to be standing still. Even an experienced driver may believe he/she can cross safely, but in actuality, the train is a lot closer and moving much faster than the driver believes. Therefore, since two-thirds of all railroad crossings in America do not have warning signals of an oncoming train, the driver may attempt to cross.

Please inform your readers that they must always slow down at railroad crossings and look in both directions before crossing. When they see a train, even though it may appear to be a long way off, they should wait a few minutes for the train to pass, rather than risk their lives by crossing the tracks. And if you are stalled on the tracks with a train approaching, get out of the car immediately and make sure all passengers do the same. Thank you. - An Experienced Driver

Dear Driver: What you have written could save lives. Please, dear readers, pay attention. I don’t want to lose any of you.