Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 06-27-19 08:26 <=-

But don't get me started on what happened in Memphis...

That sounds like a classic "and thereon hangs a tale"... ;)

OK, you talked me into it. :)
After bumming a free lunch off Daryl (and dodging that storm) I
wound up in Memphis.
I had to take I 40 part of the way and there was a welcome centre
just off the exit and also it was downtown.
I had a list of places I wanted to see.
I drove into Memphis, found a place to park and off on foot. Saw
the Civil Rights Museum in the Lorraine Motel (where MLK was killed)
along with Beale Street and a couple other things along the way. I
knew this would be a two day stop.

So far, so good... :)

I headed back to my car and it was gone! I had parked under some
trees on a metered street. Now I knew I would be gone longer than the
two hour limit so didn't pay the meter.
Being a former parking Nazi I assumed it was towed and karma.
I was told by a cop on Beale Street they didn't tow. Then the
worst came to my mind, the car was stolen. I was given a number to
call and went back knowing it had to somewhere in the area and a black
SUV I was a few cars away from it was still there. No

(Is that an instance of something being lost in the long line, after the 'No'...?)

After talking to a woman on the phone the cops arrived, about an
hour or so later, took a report, wished me good luck and left.
Here I was in a strange town with only the clothes on my back. I
still had cash along with my debit/credit cards, car keys, etc so I
wasn't totally stranded, I could get another car from Enterprise, make
it home, etc. All was not lost, save for clothes,

(more to that line, too...?) Good thing you'd kept your cards and keys
with you.... :) Yes, I know, you'd need to keep at least the keys, to
get back into the car when you returned.... :)

I spent a couple of hours more wandering around, knowing (hoping)
the car was somewhere.
After a few more hours of tramping around looking for a place for
the night (even going out to the interstate looking for an exit
thinking if nothing else I might get arrested for walking on the interstate and have a place for the night).

You do have an interesting way of coping with life, I must say... <G> I
don't think I'd consider getting arrested as a viable option... ;)

Around 10.30 or 11, hot, dirty, sweaty, I stopped at a hoity-toity
hotel asking one of the valet parkers where a motel was and told about
six or seven blocks down that street.
(I know a woman who lives in Memphis but not her number, my phone's battery was down to like 10% and would have to call her mother to get
her number but then I was also hoping the cops would call with good
news). At the motel I found the room phone was fo

(OK, can't quite guess what the room phone was....) I'm guessing that
you couldn't use, it, though.... And no charger for your phone,
either...?

I woke up a few hours later and figured since around 3 or 4 a.m.
there would be less traffic and might find it easier.
A woman stopped me, listened to my sad story and offered to drive
me around to look for it. Uh, no thanks. (I also found out she was a hooker and that was all I needed to be busted for that). I took her advice and got off the streets and back to the mot

("back to the motel"?) Wise to not take the chance, but she might not
have done anything harmful to you... you'd not be in trouble unless you
were patronizing her, I'd think...

Later that morning I was told of a gas station a few more blocks
away and passed an Enterprise place that opened at noon.
I got a new charging cord and sitting in a FF joint charging the
phone and having coffee thought about what I would do next. I had to
wait till 9 for a Walgreens to open for a comb and new pair of readers among other things.
Sitting in the motel room, still feeling sorry for myself, the cops called, getting more information, wished me well and hung up.

How helpful....

I kept thinking that car had to be somewhere, but I had gone up
this street and down another for hours.
I was on Main Street at a streetcar stop looking a map of the
various coloured routes (the red line, green line, blue line, etc) and using that retraced my journey from the welcome centre.
It then occurred to me I must have made a turn somewhere along the
way. I started out from there and found the car! Just where I had
left it, under some trees by a meter. Untouched, undamaged, intact.

What a relief....! :) Maps are indeed lifesavers... ;)

I'm surprised that the cops didn't figure that out themselves... or
offer to drive you around to see if the car would be found...

Now this street had parking for about a half block then over a hump
(a small hill) and at that point it went down and from two lane to
four. But if I were on Main Street and looked up all I saw was the
hump and what appeared to four lanes of traffic, not

(something seems to be missing there, too.... "two lanes with parking"?)

I had spent hours wandering about and was only a half block from
the car. I was on MLK Dr (Ave, St, whatever) rather than Front St.
I was overjoyed at finding the car and called the cops to let them
know. About an hour or so later a couple drove up and took the
report. I asked one if this happened very often and got a look that
could have been yes or no or any with you.

What a frustrating day/night.... Fortunately the car was found safe and
sound, and it was just a case of mistaken area.... Didn't they get the make/model/year/licenseplate etc from you off the keytag....? The
Enterprise car I'm currently renting has all that info on the keytag....

I cancelled plans for any more exploring, I just wanted to get out
of town, which I did.

At that point, that's rather understandable... :)

And yes, I would love to go back there again. :)

And next time, get your friend's number ahead of time, just in case.... ;)

ttyl neb

... "I can't get the books to balance," said Tom unaccountably.

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Nancy wrote --

call and went back knowing it had to somewhere in the area and a black

SUV I was a few cars away from it was still there. No

(Is that an instance of something being lost in the long line, after the

'No'...?)

Yep.
There was no evidence of a break in, such as shards of glass on the
street or anything.

wasn't totally stranded, I could get another car from Enterprise, make

it home, etc. All was not lost, save for clothes,

(more to that line, too...?)

Yep.
I was more concerned about all the pictures I had taken, those could not
be replaced. (I did have some early ones in the cloud, but it took
seemingly forever to upload them, so just used two thumbs, one was a back up).
Everything else could be replaced: clothes, laptop, the car, etc.

thinking if nothing else I might get arrested for walking on the interstate and have a place for the night).

You do have an interesting way of coping with life, I must say... <G> I

don't think I'd consider getting arrested as a viable option... ;)

I am also a long time friend of our chief of police, my boss is a LT in another town and I know lots of cops otherwise. I thought if worse came to worse I could play the cop card. :)

news). At the motel I found the room phone was fo

(OK, can't quite guess what the room phone was....)

It had been disconnected a long time before since everyone seems to have
cell phones and it had been seldom used. Why pay for a room phone when one
can use their cell for "free". :)
I have a 1947 Bakelite phone on a table here (no landline so not
connected or anything) which I refer to it as a "conversation piece". :)

And no charger for your phone, either...?

That was in the car.

hooker and that was all I needed to be busted for that). I took her

advice and got off the streets and back to the mot

("back to the motel"?)

Yep.
Then crashed for couple more hours.

Sitting in the motel room, still feeling sorry for myself, the cops

called, getting more information, wished me well and hung up.

How helpful....

For the most part I got the impression from the Memphis cops (other than
the woman I spoke to on the phone) they had better things to do. Granted,
they probably did. But they could have at least faked a little interest. :)

I'm surprised that the cops didn't figure that out themselves... or
offer to drive you around to see if the car would be found...

They didn't even want to get out of their a/c cars, they would roll the window down an inch or two, ask a question, then roll it back up.
The only times they were out of their car was to check something or have
me sign some papers.

(a small hill) and at that point it went down and from two lane to
four. But if I were on Main Street and looked up all I saw was the hump

and what appeared to four lanes of traffic, not

(something seems to be missing there, too.... "two lanes with parking"?)

There were two streets that parallel each other by a block, Front St and
MLK Dr. MLK Dr starts at Front and crosses Main and continues on.
The section where the car sat was a small hill that went down to Main St.
The top of the hill it was two lanes with parking on both sides. Once
over the hump from Front, facing Main, the parking lanes were gone and what
had been a parking lane along the curb was now a turn lane.
Thus on Main St looking up MLK looked to be four lanes with no parking.
I had to go up the hill several yards to see "over the top".

What a frustrating day/night.... Fortunately the car was found safe and sound, and it was just a case of mistaken area.... Didn't they get the make/model/year/licenseplate etc from you off the keytag....?

They got all that when I first reported it.
And the missing car was in their system when entered, no waiting for a
hot sheet in a day or so.
I would think if the cops had been patrolling at night, and had that information they would have spotted it.
Plus I believe Enterprise has some sort of GPS on all their cars so when
the office opened at noon they might have tracked it down as well.
The woman I spoke to when I first reported it tried calling the 800
number but kept getting "your call is very important to us" message and it just rang and rang.

And yes, I would love to go back there again. :)

And next time, get your friend's number ahead of time, just in case.... ;)

Or maybe park elsewhere. :)
Joe
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