Irvine, California is always ranked high in the list of safest cities in America. It is very safe.

One of the silliest citations was issued in Irvine for not having my front license plate installed. It was also the most embarrassing because my elderly parents were passengers in my 2005 Toyota Sienna mini-van when I was stopped. I was lost in a quiet, residential street and out of nowhere, out comes a cop on a motorcycle.

My mother was sitting in the passenger’s seat to my right. My father was sitting behind me. I was thinking about how this was a manifestation of nightmares for anyone struggling with authority figure issues.

The police officer asked for my driver’s license. Dad questioned him immediately: “Why are you stopping her? She’s a nice girl.” Mom, who had watched too many episodes of “Cops”, started to open her door to get out. “Mom, where are you going?” To which she said, “We’re supposed to get out and put our hands up on the roof and spread our legs.”

“Um, no.” I was hanging onto the sleeve of her blouse to keep her in the car.

Nervously, I introduced my parents to the police officer. They were neither friendly nor amused. He nodded at them with a “Hello”. Followed by a, “I’ll be right back.” He walked away with my license. After a few minutes, he came back to my side of the window and handed me back my driver’s license.

“Do you know why I stopped you?”

“I have no idea.”

I could feel my parents frosty stare at the cop. Mom’s glare reminded me of Superman’s heat vision that radiated lasers. She was readying a come back.

“Did you know your front license plate is missing?”

“No, I don’t know why it would be missing. Was it stolen?”

“Some vehicle owners don’t install them because of aesthetics.”

I had a mental flash of all our cars, the RV and boat not having license plates. I’m sure the cop had record of anything and everything registered in our names.

I started to say, “I’m sure the license plate is at home. We can get this remedied quickly.” Just as he was telling me it was a mere $10 citation that could be paid in Irvine upon evidencing that the front plate had been installed, there was the comeback that vocalized my personal thoughts from my mother— “They have other vehicles. Why haven’t those ALL been ticketed because they’re surely missing THEIR front license plates?”

I looked at the rear view mirror and saw Dad’s face. It read: “This is a disaster.”

The police officer, smiled and said: “You all have a good day.”

I’m sure the routine traffic stop got a little air time at the Irvine precinct and at the senior living facility where my parents lived in Irvine.