the midnight run for snacks

it's raining,

it's foggy, it's a miserable

night

to be out,

but i'm plum out of potato chips.

i'm on my way home

from the 7-11

nibbling from

the bag

when i look

in my rear-view mirror

and see a cop

car with his party lights on.

i pull over

and get out my license

and registration.

i roll down the window

as he approaches with his

enormous flashlight

and hand on his

holster.

do you know why i pulled

you over?

he asks.

because you're lonely, i say.

because

you've been sitting in your

car eating donuts

for hours and drinking

coffee and you

just need a little action?

okay,

step out of the car, he says.

chip? i ask him.

crinkle cuts.

thanks, he says and reaches

in for a handful,

before frisking me down.