pepperhorn
04-21-2008, 10:57 PM
Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but I thought I'd share a story with you guys that happened to me last week.
For three days last week I drove back and forth from Austin to Gonzales, where we manufacture our brines. We were doing our largest production run to date – about 1,800 gallons worth and it required my constant attention.
I do this drive more often than I’d like to, but the fact that there are 4 of the best bar-b-que joints in Texas makes the trip a lot more bearable. I stop in Lockhart and Luling to check out the bbq at Black’s, Smitty’s, Kreutz’s, and Luling City Market almost on every trip. Last week was no exception, and I think Luling and Kreutz’s are pulling away from the other two.
I was in between Luling and Lockhart on my way back to Austin when I saw the Sheriff’s car that I just past, make a U-turn in my rearview mirror. I had the cruise control set at 72 in a 65 and never really pay much mind to a Sheriff’s car anyway. But when I saw the U-turn, I knew I was had.
He flashed the sirens and I waited until there was an appropriate turn off and then pulled over so that we wouldn’t be on the side of the road (I think the cops appreciate this, for whatever reason).
The cop asked me what the rush was and I immediately began to talk about bbq with him. I showed him our bottles and asked if he was a grill man. We talked about his ribs and his smoker for a minute or two, I tried to give him a bottle of our stuff, but he refused on the grounds that it could be misconstrued as a bribe.
He told me he wasn’t going to give me a ticket, but I was going to get a written warning. He went to his car, processed my info and then returned. When he returnd I told him that he disproved my theory that 7mph above the speed limit is a safe cruising speed. He looked at me and smiled and said that most cops’ll give you 10 mph over the speed limit, but at the moment he was a little more sensitive. He needed to make sure that his bosses knew (he was a deputy in a Sheriff’s car) that he wasn’t just pulling over minorities. He had a white quota that needed to be filled for the month and he decided 7mph and a white guy was just what the quota needed.
He was a little embarrassed for telling me, and I was a little taken aback by his honesty, but as long as I wasn’t getting a ticket, I chalked it up to an experience. This wasn’t the first time that talking about bbq has gotten my out of a jam in Texas. But it was definitely the first time I’ve been pulled over for being white.
For three days last week I drove back and forth from Austin to Gonzales, where we manufacture our brines. We were doing our largest production run to date – about 1,800 gallons worth and it required my constant attention.
I do this drive more often than I’d like to, but the fact that there are 4 of the best bar-b-que joints in Texas makes the trip a lot more bearable. I stop in Lockhart and Luling to check out the bbq at Black’s, Smitty’s, Kreutz’s, and Luling City Market almost on every trip. Last week was no exception, and I think Luling and Kreutz’s are pulling away from the other two.
I was in between Luling and Lockhart on my way back to Austin when I saw the Sheriff’s car that I just past, make a U-turn in my rearview mirror. I had the cruise control set at 72 in a 65 and never really pay much mind to a Sheriff’s car anyway. But when I saw the U-turn, I knew I was had.
He flashed the sirens and I waited until there was an appropriate turn off and then pulled over so that we wouldn’t be on the side of the road (I think the cops appreciate this, for whatever reason).
The cop asked me what the rush was and I immediately began to talk about bbq with him. I showed him our bottles and asked if he was a grill man. We talked about his ribs and his smoker for a minute or two, I tried to give him a bottle of our stuff, but he refused on the grounds that it could be misconstrued as a bribe.
He told me he wasn’t going to give me a ticket, but I was going to get a written warning. He went to his car, processed my info and then returned. When he returnd I told him that he disproved my theory that 7mph above the speed limit is a safe cruising speed. He looked at me and smiled and said that most cops’ll give you 10 mph over the speed limit, but at the moment he was a little more sensitive. He needed to make sure that his bosses knew (he was a deputy in a Sheriff’s car) that he wasn’t just pulling over minorities. He had a white quota that needed to be filled for the month and he decided 7mph and a white guy was just what the quota needed.
He was a little embarrassed for telling me, and I was a little taken aback by his honesty, but as long as I wasn’t getting a ticket, I chalked it up to an experience. This wasn’t the first time that talking about bbq has gotten my out of a jam in Texas. But it was definitely the first time I’ve been pulled over for being white.