The Case of Mistaken Identity

I always tried to be a good girl growing up, but I remember the day that I began and finished my career, as a thief! A few years back, we had an older, burgundy colored Mercury, as our main car. One day, I drove the car to our little hamlet of Larimore. I needed to get the mail, stop off at our grocery store to buy some apples that were on sale, and then make a quick stop at the hardware store for my husband. I quickly finished the first two stops on my list and then pulled in front of our hardware store to pick up the item for my husband.

As I entered the store, I was happy to see a man who I went to church with. He also worked for a local farmer who was a member of my church as well. Bro. John, the farmer, had an older version of the same burgundy Mercury that we owned, but at a glance one couldn’t tell the difference.
I got the part my husband needed, quickly paid for it and got into my car to head for home. As I began to drive away, I realized that the car was running a little rougher than usual. “I’ll have to tell my husband about this,” I thought, as I pulled up in front of our house. I got out of the car, and reached for my bag of apples. No apples….someone stole my apples!! In Larimore? How absurd! That never happens here!

Upon closer perusal, I realized - I didn’t have my car! Thinking it was my car… I had taken Bro. John’s car which was parked in front of the hardware store ! Now, I must explain that we live in a small town and most times when we make a quick run into a local store, we just leave our keys in the car. That’s just normal here….

With this realization, I rushed into the house in a panic, and explained to my husband what had happened. My husband called Bro. John to let him know that I had gotten into his car thinking it was my car and drove away.

Bro. John told my husband that the man who worked for him, came out of the hardware store, found Bro. John’s car gone, and promptly called the police! The police?! Great! I was in real trouble now! At this point I hadn’t even had my first speeding ticket!

My husband called the hardware store, and explained his wife’s horrible mistake. To protect me, my good husband drove the car back to the “scene of the crime”, to switch the burgundy Mercurys back to their rightful owners. From that day forward I have always checked to make sure I was in the right car!

And so began…. and ended… my career as a car thief! John and Eleanor, along with my family, have had a chuckle or two over this crazy car heist for many years!

Bro. John, I wish to dedicate this dose of good medicine to you. May your health continue to improve, and may the Lord bless you and Eleanor. Thanks for being so understanding and not believing those nasty rumors about me being a thief!