Sometimes dreams come true if you wish on a star and wait long enough. Yesterday we were driving along an empty highway in western New York. It was a nice peaceful day; sunny, cool, relaxing. I'm tooting along minding my own business when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw another car coming up behind me just a little bit faster than the 70mph that I was doing. No problem there - at least until the driver of this car decided (for no apparent reason) to cut me off, changing lanes right in front of me and then slowing down.

Now, most of you have probably been in similar situations (it is a little more vexing when you've got your young family in the car too). It's just your run-of-the-mill jerk driver, right? How many times have you wished that the offender would actually get punished for insulting you and putting everyone in danger? Hundreds? Thousands? But alas, the highway is largely a world of impunity.

Well, as it happens, this young lady had chosen just the wrong moment to be a jerk. Just as she initiated that fateful inconsiderate lane change, we passed an overpass, and hiding underneath was ... (drum roll) a NY state trooper. Usually when you see the police car pull out from a speed trap in your rear view mirror, you get butterflies in your stomach. But this time, ohhh ... it's tough to describe in words just how happy the sight made me. I knew immediately that he had seen the whole thing - we even made eye contact just as I was moving to hit my brakes to keep from running into the other driver. I'll even admit that I was so ecstatic that I actually slowed down so I could still be close enough to see the actual traffic stop.

I've put up with jerks behind the wheel for quite some time now and in a great many places. Each and every single time they've done something stupid and dangerous, I've wished in my heart that the police were there to nail them for it. Thank you NY State Police for making this little boy's dream come true.