Saturday my husband I and I were in town...nothing unusual there....
ON the way home we drove down the dirt road just passed the railroad tracks..(.we have found all kind of
stuff up that road)people drop of like its a dump...we have found lumber, chain link fence, dogs...just all kind
of stuff.
Well, there was what appeared to be a 4wheeler frame thrown off the side of the road. It was in really
rough shape. The frame was rusted. No vacuum hose for gas tank. No brake cables, no accelerator cable, the seat
was torn...in short it was a piece of junk. We drove passed it...came back to look...there were no foot prints,
nothing that made it look anything other than thrown out.
So....we put it in the back of the truck. When we got home...we had our son search for the VIN number to call
the Sheriff dept to see if there had been a report filed on it...if not we planned to scrap it. Son found VIN and wrote it
down on note book paper and brought it in house to me.
Home 20 minutes and the driveway filled up with sheriff people.....PUT UP THOSE DOGS!!!PUT UP THOSE DOGS!!
Ok...we did....they came MARCHING in the yard..."YOU HAVE STOLEN PROPERTY!!" It took us a couple of
minutes to figure out they were saying that WE had stolen the four wheeler. ..At first the
sergeant was saying that the owner had broken down and was coming back to get it....He asked my husband, "ARE YOU IN THE HABIT
OF PICKING STUFF UP OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!!???
Husband said, Well...yes I am. (You know, we always have a scrap pile accumulating...you never know what you might have a use for...)
The Sgt said..."THAT'S OUR 4WHEELER!!!...and YOU STOLE IT!!" We were like..NO...we did not steal it...we picked it up
brought it home and was getting VIN number to call it in...we thought it was junk, but thought that maybe it had been stolen
sometime and we were going to check with sheriff dept....see...here is the VIN number where we wrote it down..
About this time...a SUV with a trailer pulled up...we thought it was the owner...turned out to be the LT. "THAT'S OUR 4WHEELER....YOU STOLE IT....WE PUT PEOPLE IN JAIL FOR STEELING IT...THAT'S A CLASS B FELONY....YOU GO TO JAIL FOR ANYWHERE FROM 2 TO 20 YEARS!!!!" HAVEN'T YOU SEE "BAIT CAR"? WE PUT IT OUT THERE TO SEE WHO WILL STEAL IT! YOU STOLE IT.....(I'm like....no....never heard of that....we don't watch TV....)
My husband was like....NO, We did not steal it....we picked up what looked like a piece of junk from an area of road known for people
throwing stuff out...we got the VIN...etc. etc....then he said...look, I know " Friend who is Patrol Sgt." with the Sheriff dept. He can vouch for me..
so somebody called him and he called somebody that works with my husband and told him..."Why do I know Mr. Smith? He just stole
our piece of junk 4wheeler from the Sheriff Dept." The guy that works with my husband was like ???WHAT??? Can't be the same guy...He is one of the most HONEST people I know.....if he said he was getting VIN to call it in.....then that's what he was doing."
SO....THINGS sort of calmed down...they got statements from me, Husband, oldest son and daughter who were outside when they drove up...the other kids were all in house
filming what they could see of the situation...
LONG STORY SHORT (oops....too late for that...LOL) If my husband had not known someone...we would have been hauled off
to jail....FOR PICKING UP A BAIT VEHICLE...( which was really a piece of junk that wont run....although they told us "All it
takes is the KEY ... Husband and son were like...seriously??? there's no gas, no oil...etc etc.but they did not say all this out loud.)
The moral of the story is....don't try to do a community service by cleaning up the side of the road....it could be a TRAP!!!
No, seriously, the TRUE moral of the story is "A good name is rather to be chosen than riches...."
ON the way home we drove down the dirt road just passed the railroad tracks..(.we have found all kind of
stuff up that road)people drop of like its a dump...we have found lumber, chain link fence, dogs...just all kind
of stuff.
Well, there was what appeared to be a 4wheeler frame thrown off the side of the road. It was in really
rough shape. The frame was rusted. No vacuum hose for gas tank. No brake cables, no accelerator cable, the seat
was torn...in short it was a piece of junk. We drove passed it...came back to look...there were no foot prints,
nothing that made it look anything other than thrown out.
So....we put it in the back of the truck. When we got home...we had our son search for the VIN number to call
the Sheriff dept to see if there had been a report filed on it...if not we planned to scrap it. Son found VIN and wrote it
down on note book paper and brought it in house to me.
Home 20 minutes and the driveway filled up with sheriff people.....PUT UP THOSE DOGS!!!PUT UP THOSE DOGS!!
Ok...we did....they came MARCHING in the yard..."YOU HAVE STOLEN PROPERTY!!" It took us a couple of
minutes to figure out they were saying that WE had stolen the four wheeler. ..At first the
sergeant was saying that the owner had broken down and was coming back to get it....He asked my husband, "ARE YOU IN THE HABIT
OF PICKING STUFF UP OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!!???
Husband said, Well...yes I am. (You know, we always have a scrap pile accumulating...you never know what you might have a use for...)
The Sgt said..."THAT'S OUR 4WHEELER!!!...and YOU STOLE IT!!" We were like..NO...we did not steal it...we picked it up
brought it home and was getting VIN number to call it in...we thought it was junk, but thought that maybe it had been stolen
sometime and we were going to check with sheriff dept....see...here is the VIN number where we wrote it down..
About this time...a SUV with a trailer pulled up...we thought it was the owner...turned out to be the LT. "THAT'S OUR 4WHEELER....YOU STOLE IT....WE PUT PEOPLE IN JAIL FOR STEELING IT...THAT'S A CLASS B FELONY....YOU GO TO JAIL FOR ANYWHERE FROM 2 TO 20 YEARS!!!!" HAVEN'T YOU SEE "BAIT CAR"? WE PUT IT OUT THERE TO SEE WHO WILL STEAL IT! YOU STOLE IT.....(I'm like....no....never heard of that....we don't watch TV....)
My husband was like....NO, We did not steal it....we picked up what looked like a piece of junk from an area of road known for people
throwing stuff out...we got the VIN...etc. etc....then he said...look, I know " Friend who is Patrol Sgt." with the Sheriff dept. He can vouch for me..
so somebody called him and he called somebody that works with my husband and told him..."Why do I know Mr. Smith? He just stole
our piece of junk 4wheeler from the Sheriff Dept." The guy that works with my husband was like ???WHAT??? Can't be the same guy...He is one of the most HONEST people I know.....if he said he was getting VIN to call it in.....then that's what he was doing."
SO....THINGS sort of calmed down...they got statements from me, Husband, oldest son and daughter who were outside when they drove up...the other kids were all in house
filming what they could see of the situation...
LONG STORY SHORT (oops....too late for that...LOL) If my husband had not known someone...we would have been hauled off
to jail....FOR PICKING UP A BAIT VEHICLE...( which was really a piece of junk that wont run....although they told us "All it
takes is the KEY ... Husband and son were like...seriously??? there's no gas, no oil...etc etc.but they did not say all this out loud.)
The moral of the story is....don't try to do a community service by cleaning up the side of the road....it could be a TRAP!!!
No, seriously, the TRUE moral of the story is "A good name is rather to be chosen than riches...."
Barney Fife rides again!!! 
