In need for a pick me up today? Well... So am I. So I'm going to tell you the story of Ray's stolen moped/mini motorbike with pedals.
Ray gets a lot of stuff for free. That's not even a joke. Pretty much everything we own was gotten for free from somebody Ray knew. He just has a talent for that I guess.
He went out to help his brother and Uncle clear out some property and in the process was given an old moped that didn't run and had a giant list of things that were wrong with it. Why he thought it was a good find is beyond me.
Anyways...
So he takes it home but keeps it in the back of his truck overnight. In the morning, the thing was gone. I didn't even know any of this happened until three days later when he was telling his brother on the phone that it was gone. Thankfully Ray wasn't too bent out of shape about it, and I was just relieved I never had to deal with the thing. haha.
A couple days after that, Ray's Uncle calls him to ask him why the moped he gave him was listed on craigslist for $300 and throughout the day the asking price progressively lowered to around $150. Ray was just as much in the dark as his Uncle so he did some investigating because it was obvious that it was the same bike.
Ray sent a message in response to the ad and got a reply from a strange phone number that he figured came from one of those texting apps for iPods. The message told Ray to contact that person's Mom to schedule a time and get the address to check the moped out. Ray did just that.
Ray and I were planning on how to approach this. It was obvious that the person who "owned" the moped was a kid, and we were almost banking on the address that we would soon be given to be located within a block of us. Sure enough, the address was down the street! haha! At that time I needed to go to school, so I told Ray that it would be hilarious if he played it up with the kid like he was genuinely interested instead of going over there accusing the kid of stealing.
He packed up Warren to go with him and walked over to this address. As he was walking up the driveway he decided to voice record the entire thing. He set it up on his phone, put it in his front pocket of his flannel shirt and rang the doorbell.
Pretty awesome story so far, right?
Well, the kid answers the door. He's probably about 13 years old, and really small. There's no way he lugged that bike out of the back of Ray's truck alone. The poor kid was clearly lead on by someone that was bigger than him. The kid saw Warren on Ray's back and asks him if he walked there. Poor kid was getting suspicious. Ray kind of avoided the question and just said that he was out for a walk, which seemed to satisfy the kid's curiosity.
The kid takes Ray to the back yard where the moped is sitting and Ray pretends to be so excited about it. I listened to the recording and this is pretty much what happened.
Ray: That bike is sweet! How long have you had it?
Kid: Uhhhh... A couple weeks.
Ray: How much are you asking for it?
Kid: Well... I was asking $180, but I'll take $150 for it.
Ray: That sounds great! Can you go grab your Mom so that we can finalize the deal?
Kid: Yeah! I'll be right back!
*kid goes to get his mom and comes back with both his mom and his dad.*
Mom: So you're interested in this bike are you?
Ray: Yeah! I just have a couple questions about it though.
Mom: Sure.
Ray: How long has he had this bike?
Mom: Ummm... Probably about a week or two.
Ray: Huh. And where did he say he got it from?
Mom: I'm not really sure. He just brought it home one day.
Ray: Well that's interesting. I live about a block down the street and about a week ago I was given a bike just like this from my Uncle and it got stolen out of the back of my truck.
Mom: Huh. Stolen...
Ray: Yeah it had the same mileage, same missing seat, same broken fender...
*the mom and dad both give a death stare to the kid*
Mom: Where did you say you got this from again???
Kid: I found it!!!! It was on the sidewalk on the way home from school!!! I swear! I found it!!!
Mom: Uh huh..
Dad: It sounds like that bike is yours, man.
Kid: Mom! I swear!!! It was just there! I found it!!!
Mom: Yeah... Well... *looks at Ray* Wow well I think you just got your bike back for free.
This whole conversation. Recorded. Priceless!!!
The kid kept trying to convince his parents that he really did just find the bike on the sidewalk. Props for his conviction to the story. The Mom then asked Ray if he needed the kid to help walk the bike back home, but Ray said he had it under control and took it back home.
An hour or so later, there's a knock on our door. Ray went to answer it and it was the kid, with his two parents standing right behind him.
The kid handed Ray a note that said he was sorry and that he would never do it again and if he needed to pay him back, he would. HAHA!!! The parents were livid with the poor guy.
So because of this whole experience, Ray has taught the kid to never steal EVER AGAIN!!! Seriously. This poor kid will be telling this story for the rest of his life.
Moral of the story: Don't fall in to peer pressure (remember the bike was too big for the kid to take out the truck by himself), and don't steal!!!
I hope this story made your day a little bit brighter :)
