On a recent day off from school, the plan was to have my daughter spend some time with Grandma while my Dad and I took care of a few things. And as we were pulling up to my parents’ house, we observed 3 police cars and a guy getting handcuffed right outside their front door. This is Inner City Meridian, Idaho, after all.

And my daughter, who isn’t exactly a paragon of composure when encountering the unexpected, shouted, “Oh no! The cops got Grandpa Dirk!”

Suppressing a chuckle, I said, “You think that Grandpa Dirk is on the Wanted List? Maybe for masquerading as Bob the Tomato for all those years at Vacation Bible School? Or stealing the hearts of the nursing home residents every time he does a church service there?”

She laughed. “Maybe it was just a bad neighbor.” Smart kid.

But later that morning, my Dad unexpectedly confessed to “inadvertently” driving with expired vehicle registration tags for the last few months…maybe those handcuffs were meant for Grandpa Dirk after all…

Stay vigilant, guys. The next time my Dad visits you at the hospital or fixes your car for free, he may be doing this as a renegade with outdated license plate tags