The Car Thief
Image by gem66
Does this guy look like a car thief to you? No? Well think again. He is a master of disguise. He looks like an innocent little kid, but in reality, he’s a wily criminal. Here’s his story in his own words:
When we lived on the 4400 block on North Zenobia Street, in Denver, I was about three years old. My best friend lived next door. His name was Jimmy O’Hearn. This was around 1935 and most people, including us, had not recovered from what was known as the Great Depression. Because of this, I had very few toys. Jimmy was luckier. He was the proud owner of a beautiful yellow pedal car. The kind kids get in and pedal around on the sidewalk. I think that Jimmy had allowed me the use of it once or twice. This gave me the bug. I just had to have a real ride in that car. I thought about it a lot
One day, my mother put me out in front of the house to play. This was not unusual. What was unusual was that no one else was in sight. But, over at Jimmy’s house the pedal car was sitting on the sidewalk that led up to their house. I wasted no time. I was in that car and gone around the corner in a flash Our house was second from the corner, so that was pretty easy to do. This maneuver put me on a course going west toward Sheridan Boulevard. A very busy street, even in that less crowded time. This didn’t concern me. I happened to have observed that there was a nice broad sidewalk all the way alongside Sheridan and, in fact, all the way around the block. So, off I went, past the candy store and onward to the corner of 44th and Sheridan, where I made a right turn. I knew that there wasn’t much chance of me getting caught now, because I was out of sight of anyone looking up 44th Ave.
I now had a very long block to pedal along. It was a bit tiring, but fascinating. Directly across the street was the largest amusement park in Colorado: Lakeside. I could see the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster and many other rides as I went along. What fun What joy! I was on my own for the first time in my young life and in control of a beautiful pedal car. I was ecstatic.
After what seemed like a very long time, but not long enough, I made it to the corner of 45th Ave. and Sheridan. Here I made another right turn and quickly (too quickly for me) made my way to the next corner where 45th Ave. crossed my home street, Zenobia. I made my turn and started getting a little apprehensive. I thought that probably no one had even noticed I was gone, but I wasn’t too sure about that.
As I pedaled south on Zenobia, I realized there was a large crowd of people down by my house. I couldn’t imagine what that was about, so I blithely pedaled onward. Suddenly, someone shouted, “There he is ” Everyone looked my way and then started running toward me. They got to me a lot more quickly that I thought they would. So fast, in fact, that they scared me a bit. It also began to dawn on me that my little joy ride had maybe become widely known. I was contemplating turning around and pedaling away as fast as I could. Too late! I was surrounded. There was my mother, snatching me out of that car. And there was Jimmy O’Hearn, yelling that I was a thief That caused me considerable embarrassment. The rest of the crowd consisted of neighbors. My mother had run all up and down the street, shouting for me and trying to find me. The neighbors had all come out to help. Like I needed THEM!
I was carried home, heart beating wildly. Some pretty severe talk ensued. Knowing my mother, I was probably paddled soundly. I actually don’t remember that part of it. I’m sure my mother told my father all about it when he got home. Knowing him, I doubt he did much about it but mutter and shake his head. There might even have been a secret little grin from that quarter. After all, he hadn’t been a child angel himself. I heard some of his wild stories when I was deemed old enough to hear such things.
You can bet, I was never allowed to ride in that yellow car again. My mother forbade it and Jimmy guarded it like a little sentry.
I have to say it: Check out that wooden walkway! Until I saw this photo, I hadn’t remembered that at all. It probably didn’t even register with me at the time.
