So, um ... they found my car.

Oh yes, that one. The one that was stolen in May 2002 from the parking garage in my old shitty "gated community" apartment complex.

See, when I got to work today (to start my work week), I had a voice mail from last Thursday from the Alexandria Police asking me to call them about my case. I figured they just wanted to confirm that they suck and that the case should be closed, but turns out, when I called back, that the car had been found (not sure if by police or by chance ... ) and towed to a lot in Maryland. So Joe Cop tells me to call the tow company for the pertickulars. Of course, at this point I've long since gotten (and spent on Ramon) a settlement check and the car is the insurance company's, so I can't really get it back or anything, but I was damn curious about what had happened, so I called up the tow company.

(Tow companies, I should add just as an aside, in my experience are staffed by tremendously nice people. Isn't that strange? But both companies I've ever dealt with -- the one that towed my friend's car from my parking garage and now this one -- were super cool. Of course, my opinion might be tainted by the fact that neither time did the tow company have possession of MY car ...)

Anyway, Mr. Towing Company says the car -- my car -- was towed from an apartment complex parking garage (HA!) in Bethesda, Md., which is just another suburb of DC like Alexandria or Arlington. He didn't say whether the car was damaged, but he said it looked like it'd been sitting in the parking garage "a while." I asked whether anything was in it (like, oh, my CDs and my favorite jacket and my lucky keep-in-the-trunk car stick), and he said yes on some CDs (though surely not my CDs???), but also there was a baby car seat --definitely NOT mine.

So very mysteeeeerious. And according to the cop I talked to, and the insurance dude I called, and the tow company man, very rare indeed to have a car pop up like that a year and a half after it was lifted. (Which begs the question -- why wasn't it found earlier since it was right in the area? If only the Alexandria cops had actually made any sort of effort .... ) Because I'm a curious George, I plan to pester the cops and the insurance company for further details on Monday, not that I have any real purpose for doing so. The car I know is property of the insurance company, and since they gave me some money for the stuff inside, I'd imagine that anything of mine they'd happen to find still left would be theirs, too. Though maybe if I beg real hard ... . I also wonder, if they make an arrest, if I'd have to testify in court or something. Which would be very exciting, especially when I leap over the witness stand and kick the fucker who stole my car in the nuts and explain just why you do not hork a lady's CDs.

LISTENING TO: The newly released LOST HIGHWAY record label collection -- lots of good Jayhawks goodies, stuff from Ryan Adams, an unreleased Whiskeytown song, Tift Merritt, hooray. There are about 12 other CDs I'd really like to have that came out recently, but the Steve Earle documentary audio, new Emmylou, new OutKast and new Mavericks will just have to wait. The next CD I'm buying is the new Lyle. In just ... three ... days.