I went back to California last week to visit our Garberville home and return the security deposit to our renters. What a wonderful visit! I stayed with my good friend, Carolyn; got to breakfast each day with my daughter, Lori; and hang with dear friends for lunch and dinner. A truly great visit! Oh, and our renters treated the house as if it was theirs, their care for our home was evident.
In that time, someone tucked in behind me, reached into the car and took my wallet (laying on the console) and purse. How is it the hairs on the back of my neck didn't stand up? Well, as I have had time to reflect, I realized that he (for the lack of an accurate pronoun I'm calling this despicable person a "he") has MAD SKILLS! I turned around to put my credit card (which I had tucked into my bra) back in my wallet when I realized that my wallet was gone ... and so was my purse. My phone was still plugged into the car and my carryon bag was sitting on the passenger seat. No purse (yes, I checked the back seat just to be certain), no wallet.
Then I realized that I had been robbed.
Checked in with the person at the gas station, no he didn't have access to the cameras, but he would contact his manager (who eventually arrived and no, they would not release the images to me, but would to the police). Okay.
The keys to the car were in my purse. We weren't going anywhere now. First phone call was to Alamo to report that I couldn't return the car to the rental place, I was stuck at the gas station, in front of the pump. I couldn't even get out of the way. Alamo said they would send a tow truck and a link to order an Uber to get me to the airport; please stay with the car until you have to leave for the airport. Okay.
Next call was to 911 to file a police report. She couldn't have been less interested and said that I should get to a PC and file the report online. Okay.
Then I called my credit union to cancel my cards. The third-party clerk was a challenge, but I thought she understood that I needed both cards closed and replaced. Ten days later my replacement Visa arrived, but now, still no debit card. Okay, calling the CU directly and speak to people I know. Turns out the moron failed to tell me I had to call the CU directly to have the debit card reissued. Kelly to the rescue, my new card is on its way!
I'm between phone calls when I hear a quick ""beep". I look into the rearview mirror. An enormous truck is waiting for me to move. Okay, deep breath. I approach the truck and the guy rolls his window down. "I'm so very sorry, my purse was just stolen along with the keys to my rental and I'm stuck, I can't move my car."
The first words out of his mouth, "Do you need money? Are you going to be okay? Do you feel safe? Is there ANYTHING I can do to help you?"
Mind you, I'm still in shock and reacting slowly. "I'm fine," I tell him, "I just can't move my car."
"Would you like me to push you out of the way?"
I reply, "No, it's a rental."
He nods and moves to a different pump. He checked back with me just before leaving to assure himself that I be okay.
Some version of this scenario is repeated multiple times, whether male or female including the FedEx guy. Surrounded by sympathetic and generous strangers. I would revel in the warmth of kindness much later, at the moment I had my head down, one foot in front of the other, dealing with the current situation.
Eventually, I received a text that the tow truck was on its way. I could wait no longer and touched the link to the Uber. He was there in two minutes. On the way to the airport I apologized to him saying I couldn't even give him a tip as my purse and wallet were just stolen. His English was passable and he understood and wanted me to have this cold bottle of water. Another kind soul.
Somewhere during that drive I realized what else was in my purse. My grandmother's diamond ring, my mother's wedding set with a two carrot diamond center stone, all my diamond earrings (six), my father's wedding band, Gary's wedding band, and my onyx and diamond pendant that my board gave me upon my retirement. This is my grandmother's ring from the appraisal I recently had done. Deep breath. Okay, we made it to the airport.
Her eyes widen in horror, and she jumps over the luggage scale to give me a hug. Seriously? She gave a very good hug. And she says to me, do NOT worry, technically you don't HAVE to have a drivers license to fly, but TSA is going to put you through additional screening. Okay,
I make my way to TSA. Naturally, I got a new guy who went to find a supervisor. Supervisor looked at my boarding and told me I had to return to Luggage Lady to change my flight to a later one. The necessary steps dealing with no license would cause me to miss my flight. What could I say? Okay.
I returned to Luggage Lady. Her eyes widened and she said, "Why are you back here?"
"TSA man said I had to change my flight, that the process would take too long." I respond, holding back a tear.
"You come with me," she said, hopping over the luggage scale again. "You, too!" she says to the trainee who promptly hopped and joined us as we marched back to TSA.
I point to the guy and she does the finger waggle and mouths "come here".
He reluctantly approached and Luggage Lady said, "What is this about? She will make her flight with tine to spare if you would just do your job promptly!" He sure didn't like her attitude, but complied.
A few minutes later a tiny little woman with a clip board approached. I told her my story, she advised me that she would be contacting Homeland Security; they would ask her a question which she would then ask me. I was to respond to her, and she would relay the answer to them. She gave them the info I had written on her form and then the odd questions began. I couldn't remember my home phone number, but they accepted my cell. I knew my parents' names but choked when they asked for the name of a public building or landmark near my home. Then I remembered that I used to pick up my neighbor's child occasionally from a nearby school. "Mile High Jr High" I responded.
And that was that. She wanted to know if I had a spare pair of shoes in my carry on bag to which I responded in the affirmative. "Please take them out" as they will also be tested. Okay
I was wanded, my bag was wanded, my shoes were checked for who knows what and I was off to my gate. The B list was boarding so I politely asked a lady if I could jump in front of her as I was in the A list. She asked me why I was late and I gave her a brief outline. She followed me down the ramp peppering me with questions and yet more sympathy. I was grateful to the steward who confirmed that I could use the toilet as the plane was being loaded. Pfew! I was desperate to use the facility and to have a moment to myself. An uneventful flight followed by finding the shuttle to Prescott. My phone was almost dead, I was exhausted; oh yes, and Gary was home with a pain level of 10 with sciatica so I was looking to order an Uber when I arrived.
Turns out our good neighbor, Jan, had picked up Gary's Rx and offered to pick me up at the Shuttle. An enormous hug from a friend awaited me! The tears were seconds away. And she said, "Thank heavens you had your Mobile ID! Otherwise you'd never have gotten on the plane!"
Arizona has this awesome app for your phone. You just photograph your driver's license (front and back) and upload it. You got it! I had forgotten all about it! Yes, I had it on my phone, of course I did!
Finally, she dropped me at my home. Gary had a stiff drink waiting and a big, warm hug.
What did I learn from this experience? There are bad people in this world. More importantly, there are kind people who will do whatever they can to be of assistance, even if it's just the ability to jump over a luggage scale to offer a much appreciated hug.
What did I lose? Emotional attachment to things. Things that I loved and treasured. Things that I was proud to wear. Things that I had planned to pass on to a beloved daughter. What did I not lose? My life, my health, my hope for the future. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely do wish unimaginable karma on whoever took my things. But I have to go into my future with a healthy attitude.
I've had two weeks to process my shock, horror, loss, pain and stress. I choose to look forward to peace, knowing that someone will rot from their rotten deeds. I don't want to be that someone.
I hold onto the joys of this trip, hugs from dear friends, meals with my tribe, time with my daughter, knowledge that my California home is in good hands with a great realtor and friends to look into it from time to time. I hope to see it again, SOON, when the new owners require a walk through!
A reminder to everyone, photograph the contents of your wallet. You never know when you will need some of that information and it would so much easier if you had photographic evidence!
