My wife managed to crash the car again today, and when the police arrived, she was already fired up. She paced beside the dented bumper, clearly frustrated, and pointed toward the other vehicle. “That guy was totally reckless!” she exclaimed. “He was on his phone, can you believe it? And to make matters worse, he was just sitting there, casually sipping on a can of beer like nothing happened!”

I glanced over to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, the man appeared to be slouched in his car, a phone resting on his lap while he calmly held a beer, as if he were enjoying a peaceful afternoon instead of being involved in an accident. The whole scene looked bizarrely casual, completely at odds with my wife’s agitation.

The officer, standing nearby with his notebook, took a slow, steady breath, clearly trying to maintain his composure. After a moment, he looked my wife straight in the eye and said, “Ma’am… you hit a parked car.” The words hung in the air, and the silence that followed was overwhelming. My wife froze, her expression shifting instantly as realization began to set in.

Then the officer added, barely holding back a smile, “And that gentleman you’re upset about? That’s a cardboard cutout we use for training. He wasn’t on his phone, and he certainly wasn’t drinking.” My wife turned bright red, stumbling over her words as she muttered, “Well… maybe he looked reckless.” I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing, while the officer finally allowed himself a small grin. Let’s just say the ride home was very, very quiet.