Papa's Truck

A few months ago, I parted with Don's truck, selling it to Teri and Dan for Brandon when he turned 16. He, of all the grandchildren, have sweet memories of "Papa's truck". When he was a little "Squirt", we would take him camping, using the truck and our pop-up camper. We spent time fishing and hiking, but the thing Brandon liked the most was traveling in "Papa's truck".

Brandon has been driving now since March and uses the truck to get back and forth to school and to work. He has "spruced" up the truck, coming over to show me new wheels and sound system. He made it his own. So the following incident took on much emotion.

Sunday evening, June 5th, Dan and one of Brandon's friends, took the two boys' vehicles over to Dan's work and worked on brakes for the boys. Brandon was at work. After finishing Brandon's truck, they were working on John's, forgetting to take out the keys. They were just walking back into the garage when John heard Brandon's truck start. Someone was stealing it!!!!

After making the police report, they called Teri and Brandon, who started over to the shop after a fellow employee dropped a very upset Brandon home. How dare they steal Papa's and my truck!!!!!!!!

Upon arriving over to the shop, the guys decided to look for the truck. An uncle, who works as a dispatcher, suggested a perimeter to search. Teri wanted to be part of the search. They each took a mile road between Ryan and Mound, Teri getting the "safest" between 9 and 10 in Warren, John taking between 8 and 9 and Dan and Brandon taking between 8 and 7.

Who finds the truck? Mom. She spied it in a driveway and called John to come over to confirm it. Upon arriving, they walk up to check out the truck and, sure enough, it was Brandon's. Talk about a needle in a haystack. The men in the house saw them and headed out to their vehicles, one trying to push Teri's car out of the way, while Papa's truck took off over the neighbor's lawn and headed down the street with my foolish daughter following after it.

She following after it, tooting her horn the whole way and called the police and her husband to inform them as to what was going on. The police took over the chase around 8 Mile. They followed the truck into Detroit and found it abandoned after briefly losing it. It must have sideswiped another vehicle because there was some damage on the passenger door. So the truck was retrieved.

My daughter was so shaken that John drove from that point. Talk about an adrenaline rush!!!!!! The police talking with Teri asked her why she hang on like a bull dog. She explained that it was Papa's and Brandon's truck and that she was not going to just go away. The police discovered that the address where the truck was found was a vacant house and that the other car also had been stolen. They retrieved lots of prints from the truck and, no doubt, the house.

How do I feel about the whole incident? Now that it is over, I am so proud of Teri but when I heard of it, I was very horrified. The treasured truck was just something material and her life and the other lives were too precious to be put in danger for it. Her other son said she was "stupid" to put herself in such danger. Her brothers' were horrified at the position she put herself in. In hindsight she would have chosen to just wait down the street and let the police handle it. At the time, a mother's and daughter's love took over.

She may have cracked a car theft ring. I am so thankful that she is OK. It is just a bonus that the truck was retrieved.

That is enough excitement for the month!!!