Recovery efforts

I know most of you remember me mentioning Tanners bike being stolen the night before school started. I was not happy about it, because it was the second time, the same bike was stolen. After we found it the first time, we made sure that if it happened again, there would be no doubt that it was Tanners. We flipped it upside down, and carved his initials in several spots. There are several bikes in town like Tanners, so I don't know why his was targeted twice! Good grief!


This last time, after about two days, Tanner was over it and did not search anymore. Al searched for a little over a week. I, on the other hand, would still be looking for it 5 years from now. I am not sure why I am this way, but it is something that irritates me to no end.


When we bought this bike a few years ago, we paid almost 100$ for it. That was huge to us, considering Tanner had always had rummage sale bikes before. We thought he deserved a "nice" bike. This is not something that is an everyday purchase. We are not rushing right out to throw away that kind of money for a new one because his other one got stolen. He has to save his money to buy a new one, and we told him that if he could save so much, we would help with the rest.


On sunday, I was killing time, and had gone into the local hardware store. When I came out, I saw a bike laying down in front of the store that looked like Tanners. I was sure it would not be his, but I walked over and checked it anyway. I almost fell over when sure enough, his initials were in the bottom of the bike. The bike had not been there when I went into the store, so I was sure the thief was inside. Another patron at the store told me he saw a kid ride up on it and go inside. The patron was nice enough to let me use his phone to call the fuzz. I was not going to let this slide this time.


I stood out there waiting for the thief to come out. When he did, our conversation went much like this........


Me: Where did you get this bike?
Kid: Its my brothers.
Me: No its not. Its my sons.
Kid: Uh-Uh. Its my brothers.
Me: Oh really? Then why are my son's initials carved in the bottom?
Kid: They are not.
Me: Yes. They are.
Kid: Where?
Me: Flip it over and I will show you. (I point to his initials.)
Kid: I don't see them.
Me: What? Are you blind?
Kid: Oh. (As he steps for the bike.)
Me: (I step down on the tire with force.) You are not going any where. The police are on there way.
Kid: I have to go home and tell my mom.
Me: I don't think you have to worry about that. The police will take you home and help you tell her.
Kid: (Hangs his head.)


Apparently, this kid thought that I am just another completely clueless parent. He gave the story that his brother's bike was stolen, and that a friend of theirs saw Tanners bike and thought it was his brothers. So the friend took it and gave it to his brother. When I asked what happened to the brakes, he said he didn't know. It was given to his brother that way. Just so I have this right, their friend, who thought it was his brothers bike that got stolen, stole it back from my son, removed all of the brakes, foot pegs, kickstand, reflector, etc, tried to sand or grind Tanners initials off of the bike and then spray painted over them. Okay. I guess his "friend", must have thought that Tanner put all of this stuff on his friends bike, and then carved his initials in it. (A little side note--last time his bike was stolen, the brother of the thief did have a bike like Tanners. I know, because I stalked him, and then checked it. It was stripped of all of the parts, just like they stripped Tanners to make it look like his.)


I am sorry for ranting on & on, but I am so peeved. We suspected these kids all along, because they were acting funny after Tanners bike was stolen, and while we were canvasing the neighborhood, the kid tried to hide in someones driveway behind a car, while he was on the bike. Hmmm, very odd I would say. Anyhow, now that we have the bike back, it really doesn't matter, because they trashed it. I am not going to let my kid ride a bike around town that does not have any brakes. That is really safe. I almost feel like taking the bike back over to them and telling them to keep the piece of crap. However, I will not do that, because they do not even deserve to have a piece of crap. All I can say, is I am not going to just let this slide. They messed with the wrong momma, and they will soon crack. Unless they are totally heartless.

Clearly Tanners bike.
You can still see the initials in the bottom of the bike. They tried to sand/grind them out.

Oh, whats that? You thought it was yours, so you spray painted over the initials?

Thanks for letting me vent! I hope you all have a fantastic day!