I came home from grocery shopping to find my mailbox flattened. The guy above mowed down a rose bush, destroyed my mailbox, missed my wife’s van by about a foot, bounced off a manhole cover in my front yard, and kept going down Kingway Drive at 10:14 a.m. on Sept 11.
I’d like to have a serious discussion with the driver about covering the cost of replacing the mailbox.
Dead mailbox
I thought I’d never have to replace it
When I put it in several years ago, I endeavored to make it as bulletproof as possible. I filled the pipe with concrete and rebar and set it in concrete two feet deep. I wanted some kid with a baseball bat to get a big surprise.
I hoped whoever ran over is going to have some serious body work to fix. They not only literally flattened the box, but they yanked the post out of the ground. I didn’t see a trail of liquids, so the vehicle might have had a strong enough bumper to protect it.
Yanked right out of the ground
I can view the security camera video, but it’s in a weird format that was going to take more trouble than it was worth to post.
By the way, the driver appeared to be bald or have short hair. If this was a crime show, some tech would be able to pull up the license tag, but I don’t have the skill or equipment to do it.
When the rains stop, I’ll replace it with something even more substantial.
P.S. In case you were wondering, I didn’t have any political signs in the yard.
I hope you notified the police. They could be looking for that Jeep as they patrol. Even without a clear license plate number, there just can’t be too many vehicles in the Cape area that look like that.
Did you check with neighbors and businesses up and down the street to see if the culprit showed up on their security cams? There might be a clearer shot of the plate or the driver’s face.
The gospel lesson this week was from Mark 8 where Jesus proclaimed that he lived in an “adulterous and sinful generation.” I don’t think things have gotten any better, so it probably isn’t surprising that acts of vandalism like this occur. I had a full-length glass storm door broken by a rock a few months ago, so I certainly sympathize.
I hope the driver of that Jeep is identified and made to answer for his actions.
1. A Facebook reader identified the jeep, the driver, the guy’s wife, and the subdivision where he lives.
2. I have to install some new codecs to be able to play the video of the incident on something other than my webcam server.
3. One of Brother Mark’s friends happened to be at Cape PD this morning and showed the post to them. They said they’d be happy to help me locate the driver and car.
4. As soon as I get the videos converted, I’ll swing by the PD, probably tomorrow.
The tip from the FB reader led me to the perp’s FB profile, and he had plenty of photos that displayed his distinctive head shape. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any pix of his jeep for more confirmation. His wife’s profile is also on FB. If I hadn’t gotten a positive response from the PD, I was planning to show up at her office and ask, “Did you notice any damage on your hubby’s car in the past few days?”
Great detective work, Ken! Sounds like one of your blog followers really came through quickly with an ID.
I don’t have a FB account, mostly because I think FB and many other social media amplify a lot of the political and cultural negativity we see these days. My social media presence is limited to comments on YT videos and blogs like yours. I don’t condemn anyone else for their use of FB and I do see a positive value to it in many instances.
In this case, though, I see the usefulness that FB can have in quickly finding information about someone in the interest of pursuing justice. It’s amazing how much personal information people are willing to post about themselves online.
I hope you will soon be getting a nice check to cover the replacement costs for the mailbox.
Thank you for putting the blog on your short list for social interaction. I have to admit that I don’t hang out much on YouTube.