"It's gone," he said.
"What's gone?"
"The uHaul," he smiled.
"What? You're kidding, right?" I laughed.
"No, just keep going."
He sounded serious, but he had a way of pulling jokes on me. Oliver sat in my lap as I drove down the two levels of the parking structure and onto the street. I had left his carrier in the back of the jeep, but he usually rode pretty well in my lap.
I drove around the corner and saw the jeep in plain view. The familiar white and orange box on wheels that had been behind it wasn't anywhere to be seen. It was Las Vegas - why would David Blaine pull such a magnificent hoax on a poor girl like me?
On the ground, about where the back of the uHaul had sat, was a broken lock. I told David to call the police, we needed to file a report. I stood there in disbelief as David walked around every corner within a quarter mile, wondering if it would be just around the next corner. It was nowhere. Finally, he called the police department.
Poor Oliver had been sitting in the drivers seat of my car in Las Vegas on June 14th in the middle of the afternoon. He was getting far too hot and had begun panting, a rare thing for a cat. I told David I was going to go park in the shade for a minute while we waited for the police to show up.
I pulled into the secluded space in the back of the structure just across the street. It was shaded and cool, but I could still see where David was. By then the local Security forces came out to talk with him. I sat there in the drivers seat, petting my Oliver, thanking my lucky stars I still had him. I rolled down the window, turned off the car, put Oliver in the passenger seat and crossed my arms over the steering wheel. Without warning, suddenly I burst into screaming sobs, echoing off of the parking structure walls. I threw my forehead onto my arms and shook as I screamed out in agony. Blinded by tears, I screamed with intense pain until I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. My shoulders slumped and my spirit shattered. I collapsed over the wheel of my car, defeated for the first time in my stubborn life.
It was everything I had ever owned.
Everything but Oliver was gone from my life forever.
Written June 16th of 2009
I stopped in Vegas for the night. It's a long drive from Ogden UT to Los Angeles. We parked the Jeep and trailer where the Security lady told us to. We never gave it a second thought. The next morning, I thought he was kidding when he suddenly smirked and told me in a calm voice "Someone stole the uhaul." I laughed at him and asked "What? You're kidding. Good one."
They took the whole uhaul trailer. I have no clothes, no shoes, nothing. No blanket, no childhood pictures. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing but my cat, my health and my life. There are those times it hurts, but I know i will be fine. Every step i take leads me further down the road to starting over.
All the money I made waitressing is gone. I didn't have a Bank of America near me in Utah, so I just held on to my money. It was in a hidden pouch in one of my handbags inside a box, stuffed under some of my favorite little black dresses. They're gone... all gone... and so is the money.
At times, I cant help but cry. Little things trigger it really, like remembering the clover pill box my grandfather carried in his pocket. When he died, it was the only thing I wanted, and it was exactly what I got. It's gone forever now, lost with the jewelry my mother gave me when my son was born. All the photos I had of him, and even my childhood stuffed animals, pictures and momentos are all gone. I don't have the purple quartz my friend Kathy Vandervoort gave me in the 4th grade. I held on to it for so many years. I'll never see my baby blanket again, or the quilt that my mom's mother made for my birthday one year.
Forget about the Louis Vuitton bags and Prada shades for a while... those things dont matter when you realize everything you ever owned is gone. The things that matter most are the things that meant nothing to anyone but you. I lost multiple thousands of dollars in posessions. I'm left with empty hands and empty pockets, but all I can think of is my grandmothers pink blanket.
They took the whole uhaul trailer. I have no clothes, no shoes, nothing. No blanket, no childhood pictures. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing but my cat, my health and my life. There are those times it hurts, but I know i will be fine. Every step i take leads me further down the road to starting over.
All the money I made waitressing is gone. I didn't have a Bank of America near me in Utah, so I just held on to my money. It was in a hidden pouch in one of my handbags inside a box, stuffed under some of my favorite little black dresses. They're gone... all gone... and so is the money.
At times, I cant help but cry. Little things trigger it really, like remembering the clover pill box my grandfather carried in his pocket. When he died, it was the only thing I wanted, and it was exactly what I got. It's gone forever now, lost with the jewelry my mother gave me when my son was born. All the photos I had of him, and even my childhood stuffed animals, pictures and momentos are all gone. I don't have the purple quartz my friend Kathy Vandervoort gave me in the 4th grade. I held on to it for so many years. I'll never see my baby blanket again, or the quilt that my mom's mother made for my birthday one year.
Forget about the Louis Vuitton bags and Prada shades for a while... those things dont matter when you realize everything you ever owned is gone. The things that matter most are the things that meant nothing to anyone but you. I lost multiple thousands of dollars in posessions. I'm left with empty hands and empty pockets, but all I can think of is my grandmothers pink blanket.
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