What is Grace and Mercy?

What is Grace and Mercy?
By Tommy Franks

The other day I left work in the late afternoon to go home to relax, unwind, and get rejuvenated for the next day…where I
would start all over again…trying to make the world a safer place. As I was traveling down the Fairfax Parkway to
Highway 1, I noticed all the cars around me exceeding the speed limit. Go figure! Of course, I couldn’t be the last one
in line, so I put the pedal to the metal and got out of Dodge in a hurry. We were like kids in Hardee County, Florida on
a Friday night with nothing to do, but go drag racing with our 1950s and 60s cars. Man, this was fun!

As we rounded the curve, all of a sudden, the cars started slowing down. I said to myself, “Tommy, what’s going on here.
A moment ago, everyone wanted to race. Now they are slowing down.” By now I was the lead car. Just as I took my foot
off the accelerator, a motorcycle cop steps out in the middle of the road and flags me down. I spoke to myself again, “Tommy,
what the heck is happening here? You cannot afford any more traffic tickets. Every time this happens, your auto insurance
goes up. Tell me this is a dream. Or perhaps this is a nightmare!”

The cop comes up to the driver’s door and says, “Sir, do you know that you were speeding? The speed limit on this stretch of road
is 45 MPH. Do you know how fast you were going?”

My response sheepishly: “No Sir, but I must have been speeding.”

Cop: “Oh yeah! You were speeding all right. You were clocked at 63 in a 45 MPH zone. I need to see your driver’s license
and car registration.”

I handed them over to the cop and he said to hang tight until he returned.

I looked in my rear view mirror and saw him writing a ticket. I then said to myself, “Self, you must slow down. When driving
a motor vehicle, you must not act like a 17 year old kid in high school again. These roads are not drag strips. You are supposed
to drive safely.”

As I continued to “beat myself up” and give myself a lecture, the cop returned. He looked at my military uniform and smiled.
He said, “Mr. Franks, you must slow down. This road can be dangerous at times…especially if you speed. Here are your
documents and here is a “warning”. I don’t give out many warnings, so please slow down.”

I replied, “Thank you Sir. I will. I will slow down. Thanks again!”