I almost can’t believe everything that has happened today. It hit me in the face from almost the moment I woke up. I got up, got dressed, put on my makeup, grabbed my schoolbooks, and walked outside to my car… except my car wasn’t there. I stood there, unable to move or blink, staring at the empty stretch of curb in front of which my car should be parked. My mind raced: Could Dad have taken it? No, he already took his car today. Could Elijah have moved it? He still has a key to it, but I knew he wasn’t in town this morning. Could there be any reasonable explanation at all? I doubted it.
After what seemed like years, I turned around and walked back inside. I woke Mom up and explained the situation to her.
“Mom… I’m trying not to freak out… but my car’s not outside.” And then, as I knew they would, the tears started streaming down my cheeks. She quickly got up and jumped into action. I called Elijah to double-check that he hadn’t moved my car; and, of course, he hadn’t. Then I sat there at the kitchen table, numbly listening while Mom called the police and described my beautiful car to them.
“Yes, it was a 1995 red Honda Civic. The last time we remember seeing it was around 6:30 last night.”
Sure, she could give them the physical paramaters of my car. But could she really make them understand its soul? Could they possibly realize how important it was to me? That it was my baby? That I scrounged up every penny I had to pay for it? That it meant freedom and independence? That it had carried me and my friends up to my brother’s wedding and back? Could they possibly understand?
This is certainly not the first time something like this has happened on our street. We live in a relatively nice neighborhood, but even so we regularly get reports of some neighbors’ car being stolen or vandalized. Just a few months ago, as I wrote about before, Elijah’s bag was stolen out of his car on our street. We never recovered Elijah’s bag, but I knew that the Eugene police have a pretty good recovery rate for stolen cars, and several of my friends who have had their cars stolen later got them back—usually sans radio or anything else of value. So this morning I held out hope that they would bring my baby back to me… but I kissed my stereo and CDs goodbye. Honestly, though, at that point I didn’t care if they were gone as long as I could get my car back.
Ten or fifteen minutes of numb contemplation later, a policeman arrived at our house to get our full report. He was very friendly and understanding as he asked us for details. He told us that the chances of recovering my car were “fair,” telling us they could find it in days, weeks… or never. He also warned us that should we happen to find the car anywhere, we should not get in it or drive it anywhere, because now that it was reported the police would not hesitate to pull anyone out of the car at gunpoint.
After the policeman left, Mom called our insurance company to let them know what had happened. While she was on the phone with them, one of our neighbors came to our door. She lives just down the street from us, and regularly walks her dog past our house. She was hoping to find out why the police car was here (she knows us, so I don’t think she thought we were being busted or anything. I think she knew something must have happened to us. 
). I explained to her that my car had been stolen, and she said how sorry she was, and I figured that was the end of it.
Not very long after that, I saw her walking back up our driveway. I wondered what she wanted now… and when I went to answer the door, she asked me, “Erin! What’s your license plate number?” I told her. “I found your car!” she exclaimed. I couldn’t believe my ears… needless to say, I grabbed my cellphone and bolted out the door after her.
She led me to a neighborhood less than a mile away from our house. And there was my baby… pulled hastily over to the wrong side of the road, a foot or two away from the curb… and missing its hood. I ran up to it, hardly able to believe my eyes. As disturbing as it is to see your car carelessly tossed aside with all its innards exposed, I was just so happy that I had found it.
My neighbor waited there with me while I called the police. The policeman hadn’t even made it down to city hall, so they had him turn around and come back. The woman whose house the car was parked in front of came out to talk to us. Turns out she and her husband had been puzzling over the hood-less car in front of their house all morning, and were getting ready to report it to the police. Also, her husband had noticed a car hood on our street, down the road from our house, when he went out jogging this morning. Mom went to check it out, but it was a black, beat-up car hood—probably the one they switched out for mine.
Crazily, they didn’t even take the CD-player. It looks like they might have tried to, because the faceplate was off (but still in the car) and the rim of the CD-player was halfway pried off. I’m not sure why they stopped trying to take it out, but I’m glad they did. It still works fine. My sunglasses and CDs were even still in the car… I guess they just really wanted the hood.
So anyway, our neighbor continued on her walk and the nice woman whose house we were in front of offered to let me wait for the police in her house. I actually really enjoyed meeting her and her little daughter, and she even ended up asking me if I could babysit sometime. It’s funny how things work out… I probably would have never met her if my vandalized car hadn’t been deposited on her doorstep.
The policeman finally showed up again. He dusted for fingerprints and determined that the thieves had been wearing gloves. He also extracted a shaved key that had broken off in the ignition—it was scary how much it looked like my key when we compared them. And I wonder if they left the car because the key broke off, or if they were always planning to abandon it once they got the hood. We’ll never know, but either way I have been extremely fortunate in this whole situation.
Here is my hood-less baby once we got it home:
Besides finding my car so quickly, we got some more good news. Our insurance policy will completely cover the cost of replacing the hood. All I have to do is make an appointment with a body shop. That, obviously, has taken a huge load off my shoulders. They’re even going to provide us with a rental car.
Something about this whole ordeal has really struck me. Although the people who thought it would be a good idea to grab my car, rip off its hood, and abandon it were acting really despicably, there are some really decent people who stepped out of the woodwork to help me in this situation. I am so grateful and indebted to my neighbor who took the time to find out why the police were at our house and thought to ask if the car she found was mine. Who knows how long it would have taken us to recover it otherwise. Also, the woman who let me wait in her house was so nice about everything that she made the situation as pleasant as it possibly could be. The police officer, too, was very friendly, and I’m so thankful he took the time to help us. I know that several of my friends also heard about the theft this morning before we had found the car, and I know they were worried about me and hoping it would turn up. Thank you guys for your support.
It’s really nice to know that there are so many people who are willing to pitch in and help you in a situation of need. Thank you everyone. And I’m so glad to have my baby back.
(Oh, and before anyone mentions it: yes, I will be purchasing a lock for my steering wheel.)
May 10th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
That’s so horrible, but I’m so happy that you got your car back! Congrats!
May 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
This kind of thing really makes you lose confidence in the human race, doesn’t it? I felt about the same way when my bike was stolen from Sheldon Plaza(although there was more anger than there were tears
). Anyway, this really strikes close to home since I only live a coupla blocks away from you. It’s sad to see crime moving outward into the more suburban parts of the city.
May 10th, 2006 at 6:43 pm
So glad you had a happy ending.
May 10th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Wow, what a bizarre story! Glad that you got it back and will soon have a shiny new hood!
May 10th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Glad ya got it back.
Now ya have quite a story to tell!
May 11th, 2006 at 1:33 am
whew! You had my stomach in knots with this! I remember you proudly introducing me to your car a while back. I’m so glad you have it back and that you wont’ have to pay to get it fixed.
What about the CD player? Is that still useable? One of the girls where I live had her car broken into (in our alleyway!) and all they did was steal a set of nice tools and attempt (poorly) to get the CD player out, but all they ended up doing was trashing it and part of the dash - quite sad really because it doesn’t work now. Fortunatly it wasn’t too expensive. But frustrating nonetheless.
Hope you get over your jitters soon if you haven’t already!
May 11th, 2006 at 5:18 am
Wow that’s crazy. I totally agree with Ian that it makes you lose confidence in the human race. Some days it seems like there is more bad apples out there than good ones. But anyway I am glad that your story has the happy ending and I hope that karma slaps those “bad people” in the face someday.
P.S. I found your site via flickr. Hope you don’t mind me commenting.
May 11th, 2006 at 5:55 am
You know, the thing I love about you is your glass-half-full attitude! It’s so refreshing to find some one who can talk about something like this and talk about how wonderful people are. I’m so glad it was resolved quickly and you know the state of your car. I think I can handle anything as long as I know what I’m up against. I had a similar thing happen to me when I lived in L.A. It turned out my neighbor had a get-together, needed parking space, and called the association to report that my car was a few too many inches from the curb and needed towing. It cost me $180 and a sick day from work to get my car back.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Nao - Thanks a lot! I didn’t even know you read my blog… I actually read yours too, and I don’t know if I’ve ever told you. Lol. Good to see you here.
Ian - Yeah, I bet it feels just like getting your bike stolen. And it is sad to see crime moving… although it doesn’t seem like much of a change to me.
Julien, Matt, James - Thanks very much guys. I appreciate it.
Phil - Lol, sorry if I made you nervous. Yeah, the CD player still works fine. Like I said, it looks like they may have started to take it out, but stopped for some reason. Thank goodness! And I really am doing quite well. I don’t feel very emotional about the whole situation anymore, but sometimes I do have a hard time believing that it actually happened.
Vu - No, no, you’re missing the point… the point is that I discovered so many good people living near me all along.
But I know what you mean. It does boggle the mind to think about someone actually having the gall to just drive off my car and steal the hood. :-p Oh, and you’re absolutely welcome to leave comments here! I welcome new visitors. Thanks for asking, though. 
Natalie - Thanks, lol. It’s funny that you have gotten the impression of me being optimistic, because I don’t really think of myself that way. But maybe I am more than I think. That really sucks about your neighbor! I can’t believe that they were actually able to just call someone and get your car towed. :-p Oh well, you’re over and done with it now.
May 13th, 2006 at 3:24 am
eading your post totally brought back the feeling of being invaded that comes with having your shit messed with. when zoe and lucy were almost 2, BOTH of their strollers were stolen off our front porch. they didn’t come in our house, they didn’t even mess with anything else on the porch. but i still felt so intruded upon. at the very beginning of your post, that feeling came rushing back. that hollow echoing feeling of your heart pounding in your head instead of your chest. that feeling that if you just look in the right place, you’ll find it. that feeling that somehow it’s your fault that it happened. gah.
what a story, erin. so glad you got your car back, even if a little comprimised. and it’s v cool that it came along with some new-found faith in the human race. hope you get to hold onto that.