grand larceny

Grand larceny. Psh. That is naturally where people's minds go when you mention that you want to borrow some bolt cutters...

I promised that it was nothing illegal. It just wasn't something I could talk about yesterday afternoon - since the issue wasn't resolved yet. And while I found it amusing, my husband was not yet to "that place" where he could laugh about it.

Allen rode his bike to church yesterday morning. It was a great day for it. He passed hundreds of Rogue Half runners as he peddled the bike path to Phoenix. Unfortunately, a ride home wasn't in the cards for him because he couldn't get his bike lock open. Apparently 1) he either forgot his combination, 2) one of the kids played with it and reset it, or 3) his wife (yes, me) inadvertently changed the combination the last time she used it to lock the stroller to the bike rack at the library. (It's a nice stroller.) In any case, the lock wasn't budging and neither was his bike. It was nestled in the bushes, safely secured to a light post outside of church. (Seriously, can we get a bike rack Ron?)

Of course, Allen was frustrated, so I kept my helpful mouth shut while we tried to figure out what to do. Some sweet members from our church, who saw Allen ride in, stopped to ask our dilemma. Upon telling them the situation, they laughed. My eyes got big and I thought, oh no...too soon. Too soon to laugh.

We called the Phoenix police department and the fire department. What? They help rescue kittens from trees, why couldn't they help us rescue Allen's bike from a light post? The fire department told us to call a locksmith and to bring proof of ownership with us to claim the bike. After searching the file cabinet for a receipt from four years ago, and the photo albums for a picture of Allen with his bike, we were convinced this plan was going to end up with Allen's bike being impounded.

Enter Plan B. Bolt cutters.

It's surprising to me how many people do not own bolt cutters. I am not sure why that surprises me, since we don't didn't own any until yesterday either. Anyhoo, Allen used them to free his bike...eventually. Turns our bolt cutters aren't the preferred tool for cutting through braided cable. They served more as a scoring tool, and Allen had to spend a few minutes bending, prying and cutting to free his bike. I mention this because it looked like Allen was stealing his bike. And while he was in the middle of "Operation Bike Rescue" the Phoenix police called him back regarding his "suspicious" request for their assistance in cutting a bike lock. After they retrieved his full name, address, and date of birth, they were eventually satisfied with his explanation. Which is good, since any passerby would have likely called in a bike theft in progress. They may still show up to search our garage. We may have to call on the laughing church goers as witnesses...

In any event, Allen's bike is home safe now and I can laugh about it...and blog about it.