Barney Fife To The Rescue

As hubby and I were jogging around the lake near our house tonight, he saw a teenage boy throw a bike into the water. We assumed it was stolen. We drove around to the approximate spot of the bike toss when our workout was finished so my good Samaritan spouse could fish the two-wheeler out of the drink.

While I was sitting in the passenger side of our station wagon waiting for hubby to return, a police car approached. Our dome light was on-- the driver side door was open-- so I signaled to the cop to pull over. He did. I jumped out of the car... only to see him pull away.

We bungeed the bike to the top of our car and drove to the nearest police station.

After the policeman on duty listened to my husband's story he said, "What's your address?" then, "Oh wait... I have your information. I ran your tags when I saw a woman sitting alone in a car."

My husband said, "You ran my tags?!" He was slightly taken aback. "She waved at you," he said. The officer replied, without a hint of irony, "A lot of people wave at me."

So, let me get this straight: a cop sees a woman sitting alone in a car, after dark. She signals for him to stop. Instead of stopping, he runs the tags, sees that they're clean... and drives away.

What if I had been kidnapped by a guy who had a spotless driving record?! What if the driver wasn't visible because hubby was lying near death on the floor of the car?! What if I had been abducted by aliens and the only reason I was sitting in the passenger's seat is because the space monster thought that he deposited me back in England?!

No, I was left alone because we didn't have any outstanding parking tickets.

I don't care who you are, that there's bad police work.

At least I hope the kid gets his bike back.