The Christmas Miracle

I didn't want to share this until I knew the ending, and as of today, I do. Three days before I left town for 'Xmas In CT' my car was stolen. Kind of a bummer, even though it was an old car and I never used it much -- in fact, since I started working from home, the only reason I drove it was to keep the battery charged. But it was my getaway car -- I liked knowing that if I needed/wanted to escape the confines of West Hollywood, I could. Run an errand, visit a friend -- it was always there for me. Except, the other day, when I went out for a quick trip to the barber shop...

It. Wasn't.

Weirdly, there was another car approximately the same year and model -- 20 year old Honda CRV -- parked in about the same spot on my street. I even walked up to it thinking it was mine, except it was the wrong color and the window was open and the motor was running. Seemed odd.

I searched up and down the block several times before facing the hard truth: somebody took my car! I called the West Hollywood Sheriff and a young deputy arrived to take my stolen vehicle report. He told me he had circled the block a few times, just to make sure I hadn't merely forgotten where I'd parked. He said that happens a lot. He, too, saw the other CRV and ran the plates. Apparently, it had been stolen the day before, about 20 miles away. 

"Some coincidence, huh?" he said.
I was doubtful. "That ain't no coincidence."

An older deputy arrived and told us that whoever stole the first car probably dumped it before stealing mine. Then, his partner comes along and picks up that one while mine gets driven over to the next 20-year-old CRV -- lather, rinse, repeat. Last year they were doing the same thing with Hyundais, this year CRVs.

Just my luck.

We finished filling out the report and I asked if there was any chance they would find my car. The young deputy shook his head. "Not really."

I flew to Connecticut a few days later and told everyone the story -- by this point I had accepted the situation. I really don't need the car, so no great loss, right? Why let it ruin the holidays?
But then, the next day, I got a call from a deputy at the Compton Sheriff's Station -- he said they'd found my car!

It was a bona fide, according-to-Hoyle Christmas Miracle!

Only...

The car had been towed to an impound lot in Compton and I needed to go claim it. In person. In Compton. And pay the towing fee, plus the storage costs -- forty bucks a day and mounting. By the time I got back to California it would be a hefty sum. Surely there was another way to retrieve my car. But what?

My brilliant nephew, age 10, suggested that I Google it.

Clever lad.

Turns out you can send an authorized 'agent' to pick up your car for you, with an original signed and notarized form. So, after some more Googling, a slew of phone calls, some cutting and pasting, a quick trip to the town library (free notary service!) and a last minute dash to FedEx, the form was on its way to my cousin in the San Fernando Valley -- a mere 40 miles from Compton.

But, this was, as you know, a holiday weekend. And both the Compton Sheriff's Station and the impound lot were operating on holiday hours. My cousin had a less-than-two-hour window this morning to make it all work: Uber to the Sheriff's Station to get the vehicle release form, another Uber to the impound lot to pick up the car then drive it back to his house. Everything started off well, and my cousin was doing me the biggest solid of all time. He got the release form with minimum hassle, then a short trip over to the impound lot -- he got there early, so he had to wait outside the gate for an hour. Alone. On a back alley in Compton. Finally, he got inside with all the proper paperwork, paid the fees and charges, and they released the car to him, no problemo.

But...

It wouldn't start.

I was crushed. Now what? Tow the car all the way out to the west valley? Seriously? I called the guy in the main office and he said they could try giving it a jump start. I said I thought that might be a good idea.

Fortunately, that solved the problem and within minutes my cousin was in my car on the freeway, heading for home.

Victory!

So, now my CRV is sitting safely in my cousin's driveway in the west valley, with no more storage charges. A triple Christmas miracle, at least. And I have my getaway car again!
Such a major relief.

I think I might just sell it.