Yesterday, the driver next to me at a light honked his horn, then held up a sign telling me about a problem with my minivan that I need to get fixed ASAP. (“Expired car tags,” if you’re wondering.)

My two immediate thoughts:

1. Wow! What a helpful guy! Thank you!
2. Wait a sec – who just carries around a sign like that? Are expired car tags a cause near to his heart? Does he have a whole stack of signs for various problems? “Your left turn signal is out.” “Front passenger-side tire is low on air.” “Blue smoke coming out of your exhaust.” “Bumper falling off.”