The End Of An Era

Well, it's been two weeks since the Freedom Express was stolen. The insurance company has now considered it gone and has started the settlement process.

Gone

In talking to the claims processor, apparently a stolen travel trailer is not an unusual thing. When they comment that they are "extremely familiar with the settlement process", it pretty much says it all.

I had one occurrence last Thursday that kind of settled this whole stolen thing in my mind. 

I was coming home from a birthday breakfast with my son (it was the big 50) and I noticed a trailer sitting on a piece of ground, right next to the highway that looked to be still attached to the truck in front of it. The trailer was completely covered (to the ground) with a gray tarp. You could not see any part of the trailer. 

I immediately went around the corner from my house to the Highway Patrol office and asked them to investigate since they were the ones to write the stolen report. The first question asked: Was it on private property. I assumed it was. They couldn't do anything because they can't just access private property without at least something telling them it was my, or looked like my trailer. 

And if I took a look at it..........Trespassing. 

What better place to hide a stolen trailer than in plain sight? 

At that point, I was done with the Freedom Express. Now I wait for the insurance company to tell me how little they are going to pay me for the trailer and it's contents. 

But then (once I have that number) I'm going to do two things. One, find a new trailer. We're already making up a list to look at. And two, I'm going to file a claim with Pacific Gas & Electric for the difference between the amount the insurance company settles on and the original cost of the trailer. 

After all it was their fault (in part) because they shut off the electricity, which shut off the security lights and security cameras, which precipitated the theft. They created the perfect storm for those zeroed in on MY TRAILER to make the heist. 

From rumors around the area, mine wasn't the only one. 

The new trailer will be in a more secure lot (with a gate), have a hitch lock that even the Hulk couldn't break, wheel locks that he couldn't break either and surface to surface rockets for anyone not authorized to take the trailer. 

So now maybe life can get back to normal (not hanging by the phone waiting for that important call that never came) and get some fishing in. Winter is coming and they should start stocking the downcountry lakes fairly soon. 

While I've been waiting for the above mentioned call, I have been inputting distant relatives that I've researched and the total on the DNA linked tree is now at 2819 and the Family Tree which is directly from me, is 1279. That means I've been related to more than 4000 people and I'm not done yet. 

Stay Tuned.