The past two days have had me depressed and anxious. My Dahlin' had to go to some inspection jobs and it's been a little unusual for me since he's semi-retired and always around. So, he's left me home alone for a few days and I feel a bit out of sorts.
Yesterday, after taking my girls to their piano lesson and returning home for the evening, I pulled into my 70 foot long driveway and parked my Suburban in it's normal spot. We got out of it, came into the house, and got settled for the evening. The truck has been having it's issues lately, I mean, it has 300,501 miles on it. Two years ago, the Reverse went out on the transmission and we repaired that. Now, it's leaking oil and water but still driving good as long as I keep an eye on things.
So, last night, we go to bed and I didn't sleep well. I tossed and turned all night. This morning, I get up to get the girls ready for school and my husband asks me about a transaction on our checking account. Apparently, earlier this week, someone had themselves a Macy's shopping spree, grabbed some groceries at Rouse's, got some meds at Walgreen's, grabbed a coffee at McDonald's, then got a CocaCola and a steak dinner .... all on my dime!!! $383.38 worth!
Hunny leaves for work and I tell him that I'm going to the bank as soon as they open to take care of this mess. Approximately 8 a.m., I go out to my Suburban, you know, the one I just drove home yesterday evening? I get in it, put the key in and start it up. Then I put it in Reverse and can you guess what happened? Nothing. Nada. Not a dang thing. Puzzled, I move the shifter to Drive and what happened then? Nothing. Nada. Not a dang thing. My non-mechanical brain automatically thinks, "Oh, Joy. The transmission has gone out and now we'll have to get that replaced." Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine the events that transpired next.
I call Hunny to tell him what's going on. After a few choice words, he tells me just take care of the bank thing over the phone and he'll be home soon to look at my truck.
About 11:30 a.m. he pulls up. I greet him with a sandwich and we talk a bit and then we head out to look at the truck. He instructs me to get in and turn the key on. "Put it in Reverse.", he says. Same as before, nothing happens. Puzzled, he then says, "Try Drive?". Again, nothing. He then lays on his back and shimmies up under the truck. Then he hollers at me, "Kill it!" So I do.
He crawls out from under the truck and says to me, "So, how in the hell did you get up the driveway without a drive shaft?" Huh? There's no drive shaft? With a shrug, I said, "I don't know." followed by, "Where would it be? It couldn't have gone far." He asks, "Did you hear anything at all when you came up the driveway? A loud bang or anything?" Me, "Nope."
We went for a walk down the drive looking for the missing drive shaft. Then we took his truck and drove about 1/4 mile down the road to look for it. It is gone! We come back and he crawls under the truck again and says, "That's odd. All 4 bolts are missing from the deferential. I can understand two, but ALL 4?"
After walking around the yard while scratching our heads, we finally conclude that this drive shaft did not just fall off and roll away where it can't be found. It HAD to have grown legs and walked off! Literally!
We looked around for evidence but there isn't any. If there was anything in the dirt under the truck, it got scrubbed away when he crawled under to look at it. We decided that someone came into our yard after we went to bed. They bebopped up my 70 foot drive with a little ol' tool in their hand, crawled under my truck and helped themselves to my drive shaft. Leaving me stranded at home with no way around. I guess they figured they needed it more than I did.
We called the police and filed a report but that's not gonna get my part back. Now, Dahlin' is calling all the salvage yards he can find to get a replacement but it's not easy. Apparently, my model of vehicle is a popular one. I wonder if the thief knows that the drive shaft he stole has over 300,000 miles on it?
After having #1 - my debit card compromised, and #2 - my drive shaft taken off my truck within 30 feet of my front door, I'm wondering what #3 is gonna be. I think I'll go take a nap. Maybe the world will be all sunshine and roses when I wake up.
