A while back, I wrote about illiteracy rates going down in North Carolina. Unfortunately, something that's still rampant in the state is a huge lack of common sense.

And it's really hard to teach that commodity.

The latest dumb crime story that I've heard is proof positive that there's a lack of common sense. Seems a man living out in the country a few counties east of me called the law enforcement agency recently. The complaint, as transcribed from the tape and shown on television, indicated the man had had a theft from his garden. Something to the effect that some teenagers had come and stolen some crops.

Yes, I realize this sounds like an intelligent complaint. But the complainant didn't count on the local police knowing of other laws besides that thing about not stealing. So the complainant was rather surprised to be arrested when the police arrived. Even in very rural areas of North Carolina, growing marijuana is illegal. And you guessed it: that was the stolen crop.

The man said he didn't think he should have been arrested, since he showed the crop to the police.

Duh.