Ahh, the joys of city life. There have been a number of instances in the last four years that have been somewhat of a harsh reminder that I no longer live in a place where the lady at the barber shop knows my mother, or that the school secretary know's my home phone number. And this past week, in fact, was possibly the harshest of the harsh. I awoke Tuesday morning, like any other day, to get headed to work and the gym-However, when I walked outside to go to my car, there was something a little different this time. It wasn't the cool weather, it wasn't the fact I was headed back to work after a week off. No, it was, oh, I KNOW, MY CAR WAS GONE. Yeah, I tend to park in front of my house, which i like to consider a relatively safe area. Locked up, and secure, I left it the night before, but apparently, that meant nothing to the visitors to our neighborhood.
After coming to grips with the fact that MY car had, in fact been stolen (which, if you have never dealt with, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that YOUR car has been taken) I called the police. A nice officer arrived shortly after, went through the standard questions (you didnt go out partying and forget where you parked? No office, thank you, it was a Monday night. Ok, well you dont have buddies that played a joke on you? Again, no officer, Im not in a frat.)
Police report issued, insurance company called, and well, the shock and anger was setting in-Emmalee will attest, I may have screamed out of frustration on the phone. Apologies, sister, you were in the firing line. So after calling in to work, I made another round of calls, and at about 4pm, luckily, my phone rang, and the police informed me they had in fact found my car. On the side of Moreland Ave, which, in some parts of town,is a little less than friendly. It sat at a tow yard, and was awaiting my arrival. The next day, I got lifts all over town, as I had to go to the DMV to get my registration, which was being renewed, then go to the PD to get a form that says they will release my car, and THEN the long trek to the tow yard, which, as you might imagine, is also not exactly in a friendly part of town.
As I walked up and down the aisles of the tow yard looking for my car, I realized that it wasnt here, as I saw nothing that resembled my car. But then, tucked away in a corner, sans the tailgate, with four DIFFERENT wheels (the thieves clearly had to put other wheels on it in order to dump it after they stole mine) without a radio, and a drivers side lock busted, and a ingition switch completely gone, my car sat. Beaten, battered, and abused, I wanted to give it a hug, and tell him all would be well. But of course the creepy guy who stood next to me at the tow yard was looking at me weird when i tried to give the jeep a little pat on the hood. I grabbed some personal stuff out of the car, which, they had clearly ransacked and taken anything of value (which, thankfully their wasnt much except a suit i was to get dry cleaned, apparently thieves don't dress formally as they didnt take the suit.) They even took the spare tire.
So the car is now in the safe and caring hands of the Progressive Insurance Company, which in this experience has been GREAT (get Progressive, if you dont have them, switch) and I went over this morning to look over the fine details of the repairs. The joyride the thieves took cost approximately 4500 bucks, which, thankfully I have to pay very little of. So in about a week and a half, my favorite car will be back on the road, back in action, and ready to roll. The thought of a total loss worried me, but thankfully, they will be able to nurse it back to health. The psychological damage is alittle different, as my car may battle a bit of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but that's for me to handle and help him out with. Figured Id share pics, dont be alarmed. He'll be ready to roll outta the hospital in no time.......Ahh, city living. Good times.
