When Mrs. Wells arrived she had her granddaughters, Jana and Jenny, with her. I had just ridden across the country, and experienced some arguably frightening things, but nothing in my life up to that point had prepared me for the drive to her house. Right after she restarted the engine she said, in one of the thickest Southern drawls I’ve ever heard,

“There is a total disrespect that drivers around here have of traffic laws.”

After that, she ran two completely red traffic lights, and three yellow ones…

...at well above the legal speed limit.  

The conversation during that drive has long been forgotten, but I do remember sitting there, listening to the air conditioner squeal (although it might’ve been me making that sound), my right hand gripping the door handle and my left hand clutching the base of the seat belt.