10 Days of Writing Prompts (Number 1)

Describe an insane and probably untrue rumor that you heard in elementary or middle school.

When I was a boy growing up in rural northern lower Michigan, I was raised to believe the police were constantly patrolling the streets looking for evil-doers, criminals who were breaking all sorts of laws: from robbing a bank to jaywalking. One crime that sticks out in my mind was the idea that John and Jane Q. Scofflaw were driving around with their dome light on. Yes, I was told by not only my parents, but my friend's parents that if you had the hubris to drive about the town with a dome light on, that you would be not only pulled over but given a ticket for your reckless behavior! 

Of course, being that I was a good kid and not yet the cynical person who is writing this piece I believed them. Not only did I believe them, but I shared this knowledge! I told other friends, and let them know that unless you wanted a one-way trip to jail you had better not have that dome light on for a second! Keep in mind; this was long before Garmin, long before Google Maps. People relied on actual maps like Magellan, or Leif Erickson. 

 Should you need to look at a map, you either carried a small flashlight in your glove box. Which I never understood as I had never seen anyone keep gloves in there, but that is for another day. I guess that’s why at sundown you stopped at a local Motel and bed down for the night and get up at dawn’s first light. I of course now know that it’s Urban Myth, but I still don’t drive with my dome light on, you know, just in case.