Lots of elements in this story. The main story, about the Headless Horseman, was from a tale told me by a Texas police officer, and like Skinny Mike, the officer involved managed to get over the incident and went on to a long and honorable career in law enforcement. Several of the other stories I can personally bear witness to.
The story of the late-night antics in the Wal-Mart came courtesy of my wife, who used to be a graveyard shift cashier at a local grocery store. She would come home and tell me the damnedest tales of who and/or what came in at 2 or 3 in the morning. In one instance she reported a guy coming in stoned and looking for beer and condoms with what seemed to be the loose change he had pulled from the couch. I dread to think of what had happened to the poor couch! In another case a different gentleman came in looking for flowers and condoms, and then told my wife that if he didn’t have the one, he wouldn’t need the other. She couldn’t believe people would blurt out this stuff to total strangers. As for the outfits I described, just search for ‘ugly Walmart people photos’ and you will find many sites with pictures that will make you want to leave the species, also.
The accident on the highway in Alabama happened to me, though it was in Pennsylvania, not Alabama. As I mentioned, my beloved decided I needed to sleep on the couch for a few nights. I also had to hire a couple of criminal lawyers, one of whom had as his last defendant a serial killer named Lewis Lent. I used to drive home from work wondering if the NY State Police were going to be waiting for me in my driveway with a warrant. Just like in the story, I told my wife that my name and extradition are never used in the same sentence!
Enjoy!