If I had a Blog...this is the story I'd tell!
Saturday I finally and reluctantly dragged myself out to go jogging. Dogs in tow, I grabbed my iPod, my wallet and my keys and we got to the park a little before dusk. As I was nearing my car, thankful the whole exercise experience was finally over until the next day, I noticed that my keyless entry remote for my car alarm had fallen out of my pocket. The part that holds it on the key chain is broken so I only had the remote. My keys, wallet and cell phone were safely hidden under the seat and locked inside of the car. It was beginning to get dark so I quickly looked all around my car and on the beginning part of the walking trail and decided it was not going to be found. I waited for a police car to drive by (the area is well patrolled!) and I flagged down the officer. Her solution was to drive me to the back of the trail and use the search light on the car to drive the portions we could. When the car wouldn't fit on the trails we would walk with a flashlight. I'd only thought I had finished working out-not so!! We'd walk a little ways and then turn and walk back to the car and drive to another part of the trails and repeat the process. People look at you funny when you are riding in the back of a police car!!! We searched the entire area that I had jogged with no luck. Deciding it would not be safe to leave my car parked there all night, she put in a call to dispatch and asked them to send a tow truck. Then one of her colleagues told her that she wasn't allowed to order a tow truck for a private citizen so she canceled the call and asked dispatch to send phone numbers instead. I used her cell phone to call for a tow and they told me it would be at least 45 minutes. She dropped me off in a semi-lit but populated area and told me to wait with people until the tow company came. I was happy to oblige her because you wouldn't believe all of the craziness I heard coming over the police radio- it's not too comforting to hear that madness going on all around my house! But about 20 minutes later the first tow company showed up just before he got the canceled call. The cop had circled around again and she told me it was up to me if I wanted to use him or not- I decided I was ready to go! But my wallet was locked in the car and he didn't know how to jimmy it open. Problem- no way to pay for the tow. With no cell phone between us to call a lock smith I decided I would try and break the window. At first I was using a flashlight that he gave me and then the big huge hook that pulls the cars onto the flat bed. He eventually tried- claiming all the while that he shouldn't because I could hold him responsible. All I can say is that it had God's strength protecting it because we couldn't break it. Thinking I needed a lock smith, we began driving around looking for a business that had both a phone book and a willingness to let me use their telephone. That is a rare find these days so I finally ended up having him take me home. I used a screwdriver to break into the only window in my house that is near enough to the ground to be able to climb into. The weather being what it is, I had the windows open. In one night I tried to break into my car and I broke into my house- talk about a new skill set!! A willing and able lock smith would meet me at the park so off we go to wait for him! We're driving and chatting and bumping along and then another tow truck passes us going the other direction with my car on it!!!! The second towing company had shown up and loaded my car without me. (The first guy told me that would never happen!) So as quickly as one can turn a tow truck around we turned around and went back to my house. The driver kept telling me he was taking it to the city pound so the red lights that we had to sit through were a bit torturous! But fortunately he had gone to my house to look for me. The two drivers actually know each other so the guy that was helping me explained what happened to the second guy and he wasn't upset. He was actually quite nice and helpful and he knew how to get the car doors unlocked so he proceeded as I called to cancel the lock smith. I paid the first guy $10 bucks for all of his help, got the dogs out of his truck and the 2nd guy put my car in the driveway some time around 10:30 p.m. The dogs devoured their dinner and I make a quick dish and ate it, took a shower and collapsed into bed. What a night!! I was calm through the whole thing- there was nothing I could do but go with the flow (result of working the program!) I'm thankful that the window didn't break and that I didn't need the lock smith both of those would have been an extra expense. I'm also thankful for the crazy guy that was driving me all around- he had some interesting stories about his criminal days- but breaking into cars wasn't one of the crimes he'd perfected obviously! I grateful that it wasn't too expensive- $75. The dogs were good through the whole thing too- between getting in and out of the patrol car and the ride in the tow truck- they were probably wondering what was going on. One of them did throw up on the floor of the tow truck- I was so embarrassed. The rubber mat cleaned up easily and the driver didn't seem to mind. The next morning I figured out how to disarm the alarm so now I can drive the car. I have to use the key to lock it. It isn't protected with the alarm- but nobody will be able to break the windows to steal it so I'm not too worried!!!
Saturday I finally and reluctantly dragged myself out to go jogging. Dogs in tow, I grabbed my iPod, my wallet and my keys and we got to the park a little before dusk. As I was nearing my car, thankful the whole exercise experience was finally over until the next day, I noticed that my keyless entry remote for my car alarm had fallen out of my pocket. The part that holds it on the key chain is broken so I only had the remote. My keys, wallet and cell phone were safely hidden under the seat and locked inside of the car. It was beginning to get dark so I quickly looked all around my car and on the beginning part of the walking trail and decided it was not going to be found. I waited for a police car to drive by (the area is well patrolled!) and I flagged down the officer. Her solution was to drive me to the back of the trail and use the search light on the car to drive the portions we could. When the car wouldn't fit on the trails we would walk with a flashlight. I'd only thought I had finished working out-not so!! We'd walk a little ways and then turn and walk back to the car and drive to another part of the trails and repeat the process. People look at you funny when you are riding in the back of a police car!!! We searched the entire area that I had jogged with no luck. Deciding it would not be safe to leave my car parked there all night, she put in a call to dispatch and asked them to send a tow truck. Then one of her colleagues told her that she wasn't allowed to order a tow truck for a private citizen so she canceled the call and asked dispatch to send phone numbers instead. I used her cell phone to call for a tow and they told me it would be at least 45 minutes. She dropped me off in a semi-lit but populated area and told me to wait with people until the tow company came. I was happy to oblige her because you wouldn't believe all of the craziness I heard coming over the police radio- it's not too comforting to hear that madness going on all around my house! But about 20 minutes later the first tow company showed up just before he got the canceled call. The cop had circled around again and she told me it was up to me if I wanted to use him or not- I decided I was ready to go! But my wallet was locked in the car and he didn't know how to jimmy it open. Problem- no way to pay for the tow. With no cell phone between us to call a lock smith I decided I would try and break the window. At first I was using a flashlight that he gave me and then the big huge hook that pulls the cars onto the flat bed. He eventually tried- claiming all the while that he shouldn't because I could hold him responsible. All I can say is that it had God's strength protecting it because we couldn't break it. Thinking I needed a lock smith, we began driving around looking for a business that had both a phone book and a willingness to let me use their telephone. That is a rare find these days so I finally ended up having him take me home. I used a screwdriver to break into the only window in my house that is near enough to the ground to be able to climb into. The weather being what it is, I had the windows open. In one night I tried to break into my car and I broke into my house- talk about a new skill set!! A willing and able lock smith would meet me at the park so off we go to wait for him! We're driving and chatting and bumping along and then another tow truck passes us going the other direction with my car on it!!!! The second towing company had shown up and loaded my car without me. (The first guy told me that would never happen!) So as quickly as one can turn a tow truck around we turned around and went back to my house. The driver kept telling me he was taking it to the city pound so the red lights that we had to sit through were a bit torturous! But fortunately he had gone to my house to look for me. The two drivers actually know each other so the guy that was helping me explained what happened to the second guy and he wasn't upset. He was actually quite nice and helpful and he knew how to get the car doors unlocked so he proceeded as I called to cancel the lock smith. I paid the first guy $10 bucks for all of his help, got the dogs out of his truck and the 2nd guy put my car in the driveway some time around 10:30 p.m. The dogs devoured their dinner and I make a quick dish and ate it, took a shower and collapsed into bed. What a night!! I was calm through the whole thing- there was nothing I could do but go with the flow (result of working the program!) I'm thankful that the window didn't break and that I didn't need the lock smith both of those would have been an extra expense. I'm also thankful for the crazy guy that was driving me all around- he had some interesting stories about his criminal days- but breaking into cars wasn't one of the crimes he'd perfected obviously! I grateful that it wasn't too expensive- $75. The dogs were good through the whole thing too- between getting in and out of the patrol car and the ride in the tow truck- they were probably wondering what was going on. One of them did throw up on the floor of the tow truck- I was so embarrassed. The rubber mat cleaned up easily and the driver didn't seem to mind. The next morning I figured out how to disarm the alarm so now I can drive the car. I have to use the key to lock it. It isn't protected with the alarm- but nobody will be able to break the windows to steal it so I'm not too worried!!! 
7 comments:
When the story started I thought, bboy, shes really into the exercise thing,"this is really cute" then I thought "this could get scary" "OMG" "I DON,T belive this"I suppose its alright if my granddaughter wants run all over thebig burg of Dallas with two yahoos two trucks & two dogs.Didn't your Mother teach you some things just aren't done? LOVE YOU. LOVE YOUR STORY! Glad it worked out in your favor,,no broken glass!!
you are braver tnen me i wouldn't have got in a tow truck with a stranger. guess i've watched too many movies. i was getting more nervous the more i read i kept waiting for something bad to happen but thank god it didn't. it is a very interesting and eventful story though. love and miss you all wendy
Ha! Didn't really tell the story for your blog, but it's cool to be "published!" ;)
Well, since you usually call me during a crisis (I mean, an event), I assume you didn't call me while this was going on because your cell phone was locked in your car!!! Jogging in the park, by yourself (I'm not counting your little dogs), a little before dusk, without a cell phone. Hmm. Let's see, what else. The nice police officer drops you off in a semi-lit area and tells you to wait with people. What kind of people hang around in semi-lit areas? Oh, and you didn't really have an ex-criminal tow truck driver that you do not know take you to your house and then show him the best way to break into it, did you?!!! And he tried to break your car window with a big, huge hook?!!! And you think God was protecting your window?! Okay, that's the end of my lecture. I can now enjoy the comedic part of it all. Love you! Mom
Okay everyone, I hear your concerns but I was cautious. And...the tow truck driver was an ex-drug dealer sober for over 20 years- a father and a grandfather that got into the towing business to help people. He didn't see me break in, nobody can see that window. The first thing he told the other tow driver was that he wouldn't have left me in the park by myself. It was nearly dark when I finished jogging, but I would have been home and safely locked in my house before sun down had everything gone according to plan. The park/ rec center is open until 10:00 p.m. and there were families with children playing on the playground in a semi-lit area. Don't ask me why- but there were. I didn't have too many options- no keys, no phone, no money. It's too hard to jog with my cell phone, two dogs and their leashes, keys, and my iPod- I try to carry as little as possible. It’s enough to be jogging- and carrying a purse (or at least it’s contents) isn’t going to happen. Yes it's the big city and I've always known that I live in the "hood" so the radio calls (for mainly domestic issues) were unsettling, but not surprising. I was relying on my instinct and I didn’t sense any danger-10 years of being on my own have taught me how to be cautious and careful. I watch the crime scene shows too- I know what’s possible. But, there are certain things ya just gotta do when you’re in a situation like that. It would have been more dangerous to walk home alone in the dark and I really couldn’t leave my car parked there with my driver’s license (with my address) and the keys to my house, plus my debit card and my cell phone. Any way you look at it, that wouldn’t have been good. A parked car at Kiest Park after dark is a potential crime that is certain to occur. Oscar- who we all know will bark his head off if he doesn’t like someone- was more than happy to let that guy pet him (that’s not my sole criteria for judging the situation, but it helped reassure me a little.) So yes, I accepted help from the reformed tow truck driver-I didn’t have a lot of options. I had my guard up and constant prayers going and it all worked out. So relax!! I can take care of myself!
Bravo! Sorry I judged the tow truck driver. I try not to do that these days but I am still your mother battling with being too controlling and way over-protective. I still have concerns about your not carrying your cell phone and I ain't changin' my mind about that. I know I am powerless over it but perhaps you can clip it on one of the dog collars? Or make them carry your purse. LOL! Nuff said here! I'm happy you were safe and have an adventure to talk about.
your blog didn't turn out the way i PLANNED Your mother was to be the one to get the scalding..I TRUST you!! hAVE YOU went the karate route?I've heard it can be handy,or you might get another dog(grin) I need a new picture,since all the canges your making in your life. LOVE WV..
you did the karate YET?/ I,ve heard it can handy at times. Either that or get you ANOTHER dog. (GRIN) I need A NEWER PICTURE OF YOU!! NOTICE THE TIME I'M THE ONE KEEPING THE MIDNIGHT OIL BURNING.love wv.
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