Lamar walks up to a Nissan 300SX parked in front of a convenience store. He looks in the driver’s side window and sees the key still in the ignition. That’s what makes it possible for crooks like Lamar to make a living stealing cars.

A few hours later, Lamar is tooling around downtown when he spots a police patrol car behind him. Paranoia sets in, and Lamar rear-ends a car stopped at a red light in front of him.

Fearing arrest, Lamar jumps out of the stolen car and grabs the door handle of another car stopped at the traffic light. Frightened, that driver takes off while the light is still red.

Lamar, of course, hangs onto the door handle while the driver tries to shake him off. The car sideswipes a row of trash cans along the curb and scraps Lamar off.

The pursuing cop finds Lamar cut and bleeding in the gutter, and decides this idiot needs medical attention more than he needs jail time, at least for the moment. In the ER Lamar is strapped down on a gurney awaiting treatment.

Let’s sidestep this story for just a moment. Remember, the cop did not actually see Larmar steal the Nissan. The cop wasn’t even following Lamar until the rear-end collision got his attention.

Now, back to the story. The ER doctor assumes that Lamar is under the influence of some kind of drug. Why else would he behave in such a crazy manner? So the doc can treat his patient with the appropriate medicine, he needs to know what drug Lamar is on. "What did you take?" the doc asks.

"A Nissan 300SX," answers Lamar.

The cop, standing two feet away, hears this and starts taking notes. After his "confession," Lamar will have lots of time to learn a new profession. Making license plates would be good.