As you may or may not know, my wife of 34 years and I have been separated for about 6 years. She lives in Sanford, Florida, just north of Orlando, and I live at the present, in Tennessee. Last year, on Dec. 17th, she flew to Chattanooga, where I picked her up, for a short visit before the holidays. She was here from that Friday until the following Tuesday, when I was going to drive her back to Sanford and spend a week in Florida. I had rented a Jeep Liberty for the trip, since she feels that my car has too many miles on it and needed a rest. I left the car in the garage and the keys on the counter so my brother Tom could start the car a few times and keep the battery juice flowing.
I had loaded the Jeep on Monday with everything Crystal wanted to take back to her place, so we put the suitcases in on Tuesday morning, and left M'boro around 8:30 for the 10 hour drive. The trip down was uneventful, and we arrived just at nightfall. We unloaded the car into her garage and went out for dinner, then came back for the night.
On Wednesday morning we went for breakfast, then shopped for the items that she needed in order for me to do some repairs for her. As we sat in her apartment planning the rest of the week, around 4:30, the phone rang, and caller ID showed it was my brother Tom.
"Hey, Sid, did you take your big TV down with you?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"It's gone."
This led to the conclusion that sometime over Tuesday night- Wednesday morning I had been robbed. The door to the deck had been popped open. I led Tom, over the phone, on a room by room search to see what else was missing. My guns were still there, my coin collections was OK, my passport was on the floor, all of my camera equipment was there, but when he got to the kitchen counter where I had left my car keys, they were missing, which led to the garage, where he saw my car was missing too.
After digesting all of this, we agreed he should immediately call the police, so I hung up. Having lived in Miami for almost 40 years, I was aware of what could happen to a stolen car. Down there, the first thing to consider would be that your auto is already in a container and on it's way to South America on a freighter. The second thing would be, that when the bad guys finished their joy ride, it would likely be driven into a lake or a canal, which are around every corner in South Florida. Or, it could be stripped and then set on fire. All of these possibilities were racing through my head. Then you start thinking of how will you replace it? It is 11 years old with 120,000 miles on it. How much would the insurance give you towards a replacement?
About 6PM, Tom called back and put Officer Parker on the phone. He asked me a few questions about what I thought was missing and told me I could add to the police report anything I found when I did an in-person inspection. He then asked for the VIN of the car. I informed him that a Lojack anti-theft device had been installed on the auto when I purchased it, and that I had just talked to the Lojack rep in Ma. and was told that as soon as the VIN is entered into the National Police Computer system, the Lojack would be turned on and begin transmitting the location of the car. He informed me that would be his next step. Tom saw him do this, Officer Parker left a police report and the name of a detective would be working on my case, then Tom locked up as best he could and all went about their business.
About 8:30pm, I received a call from Tom informing me that my car had been found. It had been left unlocked near a large apartment complex in Murfreesboro. He went to see it and reported damaged to the front bumper, but all else looked good. Since I had not told him where the spare keys were, it was towed to the wrecker driver's impound yard. This was a huge relief, to say the least. I told Tom that I would be leaving Sanford early the next morning, Thursday, and should be back in M'boro by 5PM to survey the damage.
Knowing that my car was OK made the drive back a lot easier, thinking about what could be missing was still on my mind. I arrived home at 4:30 and went inside. Every drawer in every piece of furniture was opened, and everything in them had been gone through. I was missing some cash that had been in the main desk, plus some watches and rings, and a digital camera: all small stuff that was quick and easy to thrown in a grocery bag. Along with the 40" Sony flat screen TV, they took every remote control (4) in sight, to make sure they got the right one, I guess. There was a lot of other small valuables around that they passed over. All in all, I was very lucky.
Friday morning, we called the impound yard to see about getting my car released. The bill for towing it about 2 miles, keeping it for 2 nights and opening the gate on Christmas Eve morning was $370. Cash, of course. As I drove it home, I noticed that the ABS warning light was on, but the brakes were functioning OK. The mirror had been adjusted for a short driver, and the radio was tuned to a Hip-Hop station. Were these clues? It didn't really matter- the police had better things to do than than look for Shorty. The car was in good condition, and I was happy about that.
We have had all of our insurance, home and auto, with Liberty Mutual for 35 years, or so. They are the best. They gave me the place to take my car for the repair of the body and the brakes. They paid for a new ignition key and remote fob thingy. They covered all of my house losses, minus the deductible, of course, and did it all fast. They covered my $370 impound fee. They are the best.
I rent this house, so I had to inform the property management company that there had been a break-in and my rear door was in need of attention, and that all of the locks needed to be replaced, since along with my car key, they had a house key that would open any door, since they were all keyed the same. Since I was reporting this on Christmas Eve, I didn't expect anyone to come, so I pushed my big leather couch up against the unsecured deck door. No one could possibly open that door from the outside now. I told the management that I was secure for now, but I would expect someone out on Monday after Christmas to see what needed to be done. A man named J.C. showed up and looked the situation over. His reaction was the same as mine- the door needed to be replaced. He took all sorts of measurements and said he would be in touch after he talked to the boss. Well, the boss, being cheap, said he wanted the door repaired. That's when J.C. discovered it really wasn't a door- it was a window that had been made into a door. It had no wood anywhere in it's frame. That's why it had been popped open so easily. J.C. put some wood in to the area of the locks and made it as strong as he could. He replaced all of the locks on all of the doors. I went to Lowe's and found 2 big strong deadbolts and installed them. Now, if some on wants in from the outside, they will have to bust all of the glass and squeeze through, because the door, she will not open unless I release the deadbolts.
All of the insurance claims have been paid, the door is as secure as it will ever be, I have install motion lights on the rear deck area, the guns are loaded and placed in strategic places around the house, and yet, I still wake up in the middle of the night at the slightest sound, wondering if they are back. As I reach over to the .38 Police Special, underneath the pillow on the other side of the bed, I think: I HOPE SO!!!!
