... But before I get too ahead of myself, let me fill you in a pre-cursor. Remember that massive snow storm when we found that dog roaming about? JUST before I got home, I slid on some ice into a curb, majorly bending the rim on my right front tire.
Last Saturday Jake and I finally got a replacement part. We were going to take the car somewhere this weekend to get the new rim put on. As you can imagine, the hubcap was kinda hanging off the wheel of the tire with the bent part. So I had pulled it off the car and put it in my backseat to avoid losing it in the coming days.
... So back to the original story... As I'm walking down the side-walk up to my car, I spotted something from a far. Something that looked like a hub cap. Like my hub cap. The one that was supposed to be in my back seat... I was confused...
When I got close enough, I picked it up and sure enough, it LOOKED like my hubcap... I rounded the car next to mine and examined the front tire: all good. Next, back passenger tire:
... And this is what I found...
Yep, that's right. Wheel missing entirely, drum sitting right on the ground... I was in disbelief.
As a bit of profanity slipped my lips and I examined the other side, an on-looker said to me, "Yeah, you didn't see that before?" I informed him I hadn't been to my car the entirety of the weekend. He proceeded to tell me, "Yeah, we noticed it before..." and I can't tell you the rest of what he said 'cause my mind was reeling.
The kind gentleman broke my daze by standing up from a kneeling position to hand me the lug-nuts he had found under the truck next to me.
I thanked him for the info and started calling Jake. Unfortunately he was already on his way to work and didn't see my 6 or so missed calls until he got all the way there...
In the meantime I snapped these photos, confirmed the hubcap on the ground was the one from my back tire (not the one in my backseat) and called into work to take the day off. No way I was gonna make it in at a reasonable time with this mess on my hands. I got inside and called the police...
I initially called the non-emergency number. The first recording said if I was reporting a crime in progress, I should call 911. At the time, I thought that might accurately describe my situation, so I did. First time in my life. When the operator realized it wasn't something happening right then, she referred me back to the non-emergency number. After calling them, I was then referred to the website to make a police report...
Maybe it's all the Criminal Minds I've been watching, but I kinda expected a cop car to show up, along with a Crime Scene Investigator with their fingerprinting kit... But obviously I was pretty off-base. Which in a way felt cheap, unjustified... I know ridiculous. I guess the non-response, coupled with the violation of my car's safety made me feel pretty alone and vulnerable. Not a fun feeling.
Jake had got my message and called and decided to come home to help me straighten out the mess, so by the time I finished the report, he was home. He assessed the damage, jacked the car back up, put on the spare and moved my car under the carport. Long, boring story short, after another junk-yard run and trip to the tire store, both rims were put on, along with a brand-new tire. The car is now running good as new, thankfully!
It was so weird to actually be a victim of a legitimate crime, even though it was minor comparatively. My sympathy has definitely increased for people that have had much worse done to them, I can't imagine the immense sense of fear, vulnerability and how much major crimes would rock someone's world...
Stay safe my friends.
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