My Stolen Raptor

 

“Hi son, what’s going on?” I asked, as my 18-year old doesn’t usually call me.

“Um, Dad, the Raptor is gone!” he said.

Ladies & Gentlemen, yes you may question my judgment, but for the last 2 years I have allowed my oldest boys to drive my F-150 Red Raptor 2022 truck, perhaps the world’s greatest vehicle, owned by my business, as a gift to them for their senior year of high school if they are on the honor roll and making good decisions.

Tonight someone made a bad decision.

As calmly as possible, I responded, “Where did you last see it and where are you now?”

“We went to the Utah Jazz game downtown and I parked it at a restaurant,” my boy said.

“Son, did you buy a meal at that restaurant or pay for parking somewhere?” I asked, knowing what he was likely going to say.

“Well, we got to the arena late, and couldn’t find a place to park, so we just parked there. Why, is that a problem?” he asked.

I let him know that, yes, that particular establishment is infamous for towing anyone who didn’t buy a meal and leave their receipt in the windshield.

I assured him it had been towed.

I told him to call the tow company and we’ll figure it out from there.

As I was already driving that direction, I checked my AirTag in the Red Raptor, and that’s when I noticed something extra odd:

My Raptor was at Lee’s Marketplace.

Not at a tow yard, not headed to one, but at a grocery store.

 

 

A pit hit my stomach.

Perhaps someone stole it? 

My son called me back, only to say the tow company didn’t have our vehicle in their records as one they’d towed that night.

Oh boy!

As I updated the AirTag I saw the next place:

West Temple.

Oh man. Not the route it should be headed if towed.

 

 

I kept racing that direction.

AirTag updated again:

Raptor heading down State Street!

 

 

Notorious “dragging of State” Street means someone is out for a joyride in my vehicle. Oh my goodness.

As I reached for my Glock to ensure it was loaded and ready, I called my wife to contact the police, as I was now going after my Raptor and the thieves who stole it.

AirTag update:

Raptor is now on I-80 going eastbound from Salt Lake City to Millcreek and headed towards the canyon to Park City.

 

 

I press on the gas a bit harder, knowing I’m about to have a shootout to get my truck back. I also had some skis in the back of my truck that I could hit someone with, and ski poles to use as swords.

My wife called and said the police were on it, and NOT to follow the AirTag, that the police would take care of it.

I’ve heard that before.

I’ve got this.

I turned my truck into SPORT mode and raced up I-15 as if I were in Fast & Furious.

My AirTag hadn’t updated for a minute, and I was closing in on 5300 S. going northbound, only a few more minutes and I’d be at I-80.

Suddenly, the AirTag updated:

The Humane Society

 

 

I would be passing The Humane Society in 30 seconds!

 

 

As I looked over, I could see the spot where my truck was hidden, and had just received a call from the police to come and get the boys downtown immediately.

Knowing my truck was being tracked, I went and got my son and his friends.

Pulling up, there they stood with the police and a smirk.

Rolling down the window I asked, “Are these boys causing trouble, officer?”

He replied, “Well, we confirmed just now the truck was towed, not stolen as it seemed, and we wish you well getting it back tonight, that’s a tough outfit they run.”

I thanked him for confirmation, as I mentioned the AirTag had told me it was stolen, as had an alert from my Ford App.

The officer assured me it was towed, as the boys piled into my truck.

We made our way back to The Humane Society, and yes, it was a tow yard lot right next to where all the cute dogs and cats live awaiting a home.

This was the nice lady who charged me for every last thing she could think of, assuring me they don’t take AMEX.

 

 

$398 later, and the Red Raptor was released from the tow yard, as my son drove his friends home.

 

 

Not stolen.

Good.

Towed.

Not good.

My family had an interesting discussion that night and the next day, and it was determined warnings for parking at the restaurant were ignored, it was an unfortunate decision and situation, and one we as the parents couldn’t pay for and needed to be compensated.

My son was not happy, he felt he’d been conned by the misleading signs of the establishment where he parked.

The next morning I saw GoFundMe on my son’s Instagram.

 

 

Which, I’ll be honest, made me laugh, but also I made him take it down (the first post I’ve told him to not keep up). He assured me he was joking about it (he is quite funny).

I got home less than 18 hours following incident, after a day of speaking, and saw $400 on my desk, with a note from my son, apologizing for what had happened.

My son makes money selling thrifted shirts worldwide, as well as filling orders at Cardio Miracle, our family business. He NEVER spends a penny, as he saves everything, and it was quite the exercise to pay up for the situation.

But he owned up to it. Regrets doing it, didn’t think something like that would happen to him.

I’m sad he made that choice, proud he took ownership of it, and he will likely not break many rules in the future of a car sort.

What is The Promise in all of this? 

Well, The Promise of the AirTag is to not be exactly reliable. It updates and sends signals where it thinks its going and thinks its been…not as exact as I had hoped. Led me on quite the chase.

The Promise of the Ford App is, apparently, not to let you know there’s been an intruder, unless you happen to look at your App. That’s disappointing and a feature they ought to consider a push notification for.

The Promise of the Dad is to go get the kid first, and then chase the bad guys – if needs be. And maybe to also not follow the AirTag’s advice.

The Promise of the Professional is to still get up early after a bad evening at home, go to the event, act like everything is fine, and return home to whatever mess might be there still.

 

 

The Promise of the Family is to be there for each other, hold our kids accountable, even when its uncomfortable, and trust me, this one was just that for us.

My son is my workout buddy, we spend more time together than I spend with anyone, and he is preparing for future service for our church. I love him and am proud of him, for most everything.

But this night we had a really hard conversation.

And he took the discussion like a man.

The Promise of the Family is to have the difficult talk and not skirt around it. Face the facts, hit it head on, and still say “I love you”.

That’s the story of The Stolen Raptor.

 

~ Jason Hewlett 

Inspiration Wrapped in Entertainment

• Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker

• Speaker Hall of Fame Award-Winning Entertainer Emcee

• World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to teach The Promise

• Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Author of #1 Spiritual Self-Help book “The Promise To The One”

• Messenger & President of Cardio Miracle

jasonhewlett.com