Life in the Fast Lane

North Dakota is known for two things, mainly. Well, oil, but that's a more recent development. The people here are the salt of the earth too, but outside of the state what we've always been known for is cold weather and vast distances between settlements. The Native Americans knew this, the early immigrant settlers certainly knew it, and anybody who has to drive from any one of our cities to any other knows it.


The temptation, therefore, is to put the pedal to the metal. In fact, the North Dakota Legislature is  considering legislation right now that would bring our speed limit from 75 up to 80 for that very reason. There's an argument that says it's actually more dangerous to have a slower limit because people get so bored while tooling down the Interstate that they stop paying attention. This time of year, all you can really see is a vast whiteness, with the sky blending into the fields on the far horizon.


This weekend, my partner Renita and I were driving to a book signing in Fargo, and we were stopped for speeding. Renita got distracted for just a moment and got a little heavy on the foot pedal, and that's when we passed the highway patrolman. I regret the ticket, but I do feel good about a couple of things:


1. Renita shows great grace under pressure. She didn't get angry, she didn't really even get upset and she didn't pretend she wasn't in the wrong. That was refreshing. Most people just get mad at the cop who's just doing his job.


2. The officer was uber serious when he approached the car, as I'm sure they never know what they're dealing with. But by the time he handed us the ticket we had him laughing. Why foster bad feelings, right?


And 3. We had a great book-signing in Fargo, had a chance to get our message out and I think made a real difference for those who took the time to stop and hear our pitch. There was the woman who put the paleo diet book back because she thought PFC Every 3 was a better idea. (If you don't know what that is, read the book:

GET YOUR COPY HERE

There were the two women studying to be lawyers who wanted to help their soon-to-be husbands get healthy. And there was this guy who bought the book for his wife and so he could tell us about his son. He ended up being a new friend.

And finally, for your entertainment, here's a video of our encounter with the highway patrol officer: