Okay, here’s the story:
Went down to Robert’s place – about 25~30 miles away – an got some wood. About 35 bf of 4/4 walnut, and 30 bf of 6/4 curly maple.
The maple was just under 13 feet long. My Toyota pickup bed, with the tailgate down, is about 7½ feet; so about 5 feet of maple were sticking out. I commented that it was quite a bit of overhang, but we put a red flag on it, and I took off for home, using mainly the back roads.
As I got to the one main road that I couldn’t avoid, I noticed a Sheriff’s car behind me – about a hundred yards back. Half a mile or so later, he hit me with the blue lights, and I figured ‘here comes a ticket!’
I pulled over into a nearby driveway, and the deputy gets out and walks up to the truck. Says “Hey guy, I’ve been behind you for a while.” I said, “I know. I saw you back there.” He says “Well, your flag blew off about a quarter mile back. It went over my hood and into the ditch. Got another flag?
By now, figuring I wasn’t going to get a ticket, just some help, I responded, “Yeah, I think so, but if I don’t, I
am wearing red underwear.”
He looked a bit surprised, hesitated, then said “Jeese, I hope you’ve got a flag!” We found a flag behind the seat, and he watched me staple it to the maple; said “have a nice day!” and got back in his cruiser.
End of story.