Today started out pretty well. We slept a little later than usual, but we were up late last night. The alarm when off at 6:20am and I just turned it off and went back to sleep. I woke up at 7:30am thinking ‘how can it be so late?’ Since it was overcast outside, the room stayed darker.The cats were in their usual spots on our bed, all curled up. When Kaci (Little Girl) noticed that I was awake, she did what she normally does. She came up to me and curled up next to me and waited to be petted. I obediently complied.
"Sometimes I feel like someone is watching me"Jezibel
I had to run a few errands later so I got ready and left the house around noon. I dropped off some old strings of Christmas lights, batteries, and light bulbs at the waste center. After a couple of more errands in town, I decided to stop at Vons grocery store and pick up some things before going home.
After shopping I headed home. I was only about 10 minutes from the house. When I drove up and parked, I noticed that my purse was not in the car. Instantly I knew that I had left it in the shopping cart. I had parked next to the shopping cart corral in the parking lot. When I put my groceries in the car, I remember pushing the cart into the corral.
I panicked to think that my purse was left in the shopping cart. It contained my life! All of my credit cards, my driver’s license, my military ID, my cell phone, and other things that weren’t that important, but I didn’t want to lose anyway.
I raced (and I mean RACED) back to the store to see if the purse was still there. Every driver who couldn’t go faster than 10 miles an hour got in my path. I was yelling “Get out of my way!”, in between praying to God that he not let this happen to me.
When I finally got back to the store parking lot, of course the purse was not there. I went into the store to see if it had been turned in. The girl looked in the safe and there was no purse. I can’t even tell you how much I was shaking. All kinds of things were running through my mind by this time.
We are leaving on vacation on May 10 and I would have to stop all of my credit cards, get new ones; get a new driver’s license; new military ID; new auto club card, and on and on. It just about took my breath away. This was my nightmare come true.
When I came out of the store I noticed that the man who had been putting his groceries in his car when I was putting my in, was still parked there. I walked over and said “Excuse me sir, but did you see anyone taking a purse from the carts over there?” He looked over and said “No”. He was listening to the ball game on the radio. Maybe he couldn’t do that at home. Anyway, I said that I had left my purse in the basket and he seemed sympathetic, but sincere and I went back to my car.
My next strategy was to ‘fly’ home and immediately go online and phone to stop all my cards. The same 10 mile an hour drivers were in my path. It only made me more frenzied.
When I finally got home, I ran into the house, yelling for Charlie, which is normal when I come home from shopping. He knows I want him to help bring stuff in from the car. He was upstairs in his computer room. He came out and pointed to the cell phone at his ear. I went straight up to my computer and started pulling up my first card on my list of credit cards.
Then the phone rang. For an instant I thought, “Maybe someone is calling about my purse”. I answered and it was from my doctor’s office. She said, “This is Claudia. We received your check and.....this has never happened to me.......but I thought the envelope was empty so I put it in the shredder. I shredded your check.......” At this point I’m frantic. This is what she's calling about? She shredded my check? I’ve lost my purse-- with my freaking life in it-- and she shredded my freaking check? Really? All I could think of was ‘I’ll write her another check, but I’ll use my other account.....’ All of these things were rushing through my head because I knew that my checking account....both of my checking accounts....... were compromised.....I told her that I had just lost my purse-- and she gasped. I knew she felt the horror I was feeling. We connected.
Then Charlie came in. He was still on the phone, probably on hold now. He said “Did you lose your purse?” I said “Yes!” He said, “There's a message on the phone. Someone called before you got home, but I was on the phone and couldn't pick up. Listen to the voice mail. I think someone found it”. I told Claudia I would send a check and she said “Don’t worry. Do whatever you have to do. Bye.” I ran downstairs and listened to the message.
“Hello, this is Darla Patterson. I’m calling to try to return your purse. It was left in a shopping cart at Vons and I’d like to get it back to you. I know how important it is to you. My number is...........” I barely heard the number, but somehow dialed it back and got her. I was so excited to hear that she had my purse, my life. I got her address and said I’d be right there.
Charlie went with me to get my purse. We drove up to the house. I parked, got out and locked the doors. As I was getting out of the car I noticed that my back windows were down. I got back in and turned the key to put the windows up. Then Darla, her husband and daughter came out of the house. I closed the car door and went over to her. They said that they had stopped at Vons just to pick up a couple of things. As they were getting in the car, they noticed something brown in the shopping cart. It was my purse.
I only had $23 in my wallet and I offered them $20. They refused to take it. I was so relieved that such honest people found my purse and called me. It could have been picked up by someone who wasn’t as honest and I’d never see it again. I had expected the worse and it had turned out for the best.
I told Darla that if I saw her in Vons sometime, I would pay for her groceries and I meant it.
They went back into the house as Charlie and I walked to the car. I couldn't find the keys. Charlie looked in and said "The keys are in the ignition and the doors are locked". This was nothing compared to what I had been through already. But, I had not had the chance to roll the back windows up, so we were able to open the back door and unlock the doors. All was well again.
As Charlie and I were driving home, after my adrenaline stopped pumping, we could laugh about it. We decided that if we saw Darla and her family in Vons and they had a basketful of steaks, we’d go down another isle before they saw us. But then, looking back on it, we decided that we wouldn’t mind paying for a basketful of steaks. It was nothing compared to what they did for me today!
Thank goodness, Mom got her purse back!More later............
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