"Blodder for my Fog"

...is what I said to my neighbor Marci as we were on our way to the police station to recover my stolen ATV (no one here ever calls them that -- they're all Hondas or 4 wheelers).  It was just a reflection of how my morning started.  Still bleary-eyed, I happened to wander to my livingroom window which overlooks the parking lot.  I saw Marci's 4 wheeler but no sign of mine.  I shook my head and thought back over last night.  I had gone down the beach on it, but I drove all the way back and parked it right there.  The keys were on the counter, so I didn't leave them in it.  After a moment I decided on the conclusion I was hoping to avoid -- it had been stolen.  I threw on yesterday's clothes and ran down the stairs naively hoping it was just a prank or some kids had pushed it to another side of the building.  Instead, I found the contents of the little trunk compartment strewn around. 

I knew at some point in my sleep I heard Marci go outside with her dogs, so I asked her if the machine was there when she went out.  It wasn't, she thought I was out on it.  So, she joined in the search.  I headed to the office to borrow a park vehicle since getting a stolen machine back usually involves driving around and searching for wherever it's been ditched.  Marci got her 4 wheeler and met me at the police station.  The outside door is locked there, and they never hear anyone knocking.  I forgot to grab my phone, so I decided to swing by the radio station on my way back to get it. 

Last winter a couple of park snow machines were stolen from our warehouse, and an announcement on the radio was what led to their recovery.  The ladies at the radio said there have been probably 10 thefts of 4 wheelers in the past month and mine was the 2nd Honda Recon this week.  She said most of them had been recovered and to try the road down the beach, that there was a beach party last night.

When I called the police, they said there had been a chase and a Honda was recovered.  On the way back to the station, Marci and I were chuckling at the thought of my little machine being involved in a high-speed chase around town.  What I meant to tell her was that it would definitely be fodder for my blog, but being that I never got the chance to wake up properly, I must have had fog on the brain.

Sure enough, there sat my little Honda behind the station.  Muddy, hotwired, and a small part of the chassis  loose, but it was there and runs.  Officer Hughes said it was a 14 year old -- drunk, of course.  This kid had been doing stuff for a while, but they couldn't catch him, so they were hot on him last night as he tried to evade them on my machine! 

There were actually 2 kids involved (1 driving and 1 riding on the back) and multiple officers on the chase.  They clocked them at 60 as they sped through town, blowing through all the stop signs.  Can you imagine the mess if someone had crossed their path at one of those intersections?  At one point the kids went out to North Tent City, the north end of town that turns in to a narrow sand spit.  People have had tents and fish drying racks there for years.

The point at the center of the picture is North Tent City

The kids drove out across the tundra, but there's only 1 way back, so the officers were there in their vehicles, lights off, waiting for them.  They could hear my machine as they got closer.  As the kids raced back into town, the police were right on them.  The kids hit a bump or hole in the road, the passenger flew off the back, and the driver crashed into a fence.  He took off running, and the police picked up the passenger.  He was ok and told the police who the other kid was.  Officer Hughes said they were lucky.  He hit the same spot in the road, and it actually damaged the door of his SUV.  It doesn't open quite right now.

Considering the story, my machine is in good shape.  I have to get the ignition system fixed (still figuring that out) and some pins to reattach the plastic fender correctly.  I'll try to get it out later and ride it well to make sure it's all good, but I think it is.  Of course, it probably needs more gas -- I had just filled it up!

The kids will be charged with criminal mischief, evading, curfew, and whatever else the officer can throw at them.  The parents will also be charged with breaking the curfew because they weren't supervising their kids.  That's the part, really, that makes me happiest because I'm disgusted with the lack of parenting here.  In some households when the kids all grow up, the moms even encourage the young girls to have kids because they want little babies around, but then nobody cares for them; they just become feral children. 

Stay tuned for...the rest of the story.