The Skulking Scofflaw:

My car's registration sticker says “11” on it. But November came and went without my getting my car inspected. My car's old; I expected it to fail. I'm trying to nurse it through old age. I don't want to pay a few hundred bucks to get through reinspection.

But now it's January, and I always fear getting a ticket for not getting inspected on time. Today was the day! I greatly feared being stopped by a policeman on the way to inspection and getting that $65 ticket.

“I'm going to get inspected right now,” I would say to the policeman.
“Yeah. Right,” he would say.

So in hope of getting, at worst, a warning, I printed a page on my printer that said I was going, on Jan 15 at noon, to inspection. I signed it with a magic marker in my kitchen. I have NO magic markers in my car, so if a policeman stopped me, I would really look like I was on my way to inspection!

I drove all back roads to the inspection station. Fortunately – VERY fortunately, as you will see – the line was short.

I got up to the inspection guy. He looked at my car and did a mild double take. Then he walked over.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” he asked.
“What's the good news?”
“Your inspection sticker is good till November 2008. You're good!”
“What's the bad news, then?”
“You have to leave.”

I left.