It was December 2021...
She headed to the post office...
It was chilly...
Rain was very near...

The road was busy...
4-lane US highway...
Lot a big trucks and cars...
Not in a hurry...
Just one chore this morning...

It was starting to drizzle...
What did she see...
One grown man with three little kids...
All were walking in the grass...
The grass on the side of the road...
Walking one right behind the other...

“No it is stupid to pick up strangers”...
She knew better...
But what if she found out that...
That one of those little kids got hit...
Hit by a car...
How would she feel then...

Nothing is coming in the road...
“You can make a u-turn right now”...
Pulled up to the group...
Father said, “I had car trouble...
My wife is sending someone...
Someone to pick us up”...
Could you take us to the Days Inn?”...
“Yes I have time”...

Father put the kids on the rider's side...
He made room for himself behind the driver...
She could see he kids but not the Father...
It was a 2-mile drive...
Father said, “Please let us out at Bojangles...
I will call my wife from here”...
“OK. Merry Christmas kids...
Oh and here is a pair...
A pair of Christmas earrings for your wife”...
She makes earrings and gave them away...
It added joy to her Christmas...

Got her stamps and returned home...
That was when she realized...
Realized her pocketbook was under her seat...
All the zippers were open...
Check book, driver’s license and gun permit...
All her hidden money was gone...
She only had one dollar in the paper money slot...
She had a number of large bills behind things...
The Father had been really fast...
This was not his first adventure...

Those darling kids were watching...
They had done this many times...
They were trained...
They did not speak or move in her car...

Called police...
Officer came to her house...
He was nice but not too encouraging...

Next day she went to the Days Inn...
Found the man and the kids...
Called the police...
Police cannot do anything without...
Without a warrant...
Finally got a warrant...
Man was moved...

September 20, 2022 phone call...
Officer, “Hearing is tomorrow at 11 a.m.”...
“Yes I will be there. Thank You”...
10:30 a.m. arriving at hearing...
Hearing is over...
It was at 10 a.m...
However the Father did not show up...
He has 91 days before he can be...
Be scheduled again for a hearing...

November 14, 2022 is the next hearing...
If he does not show up then...
The bond people will go looking for him...

2021 forward she just cannot be thoughtful...
She cannot be helpful...
She has to learn not to care...

More About Judge Rembert: WWII made Judge an only child when her half-brother was killed in the war. She lived in a tiny town in South Carolina until she was eight and her Mother went to work. She was sent to a boarding school in Belmont, N.C. From that time on she has lived back and forth in the two Carolinas. They are both home. She was born dyslexic and did not know what the problem was or that it had a name until she was about 45. She was unable to spell so she never put words on paper until she was 65 and had a computer with spell check. She comes from a long line of story tellers and a Mother that taught her much by telling stories. Stories about people and how they faced life and how they dealt with problems. If you read what she writes you may hear her Mother and her Grandmother talking to her. She is thrilled to know that anyone reads her words and finds them interesting. Oh, she is 75 now and she now makes her home in Aiken, S.C. If you like Judge’s writings or would like to comment on them let her know by emailing [email protected]