Thursday, September 9, 2010

Andrew Zemany and his "Lost" Chevy Tahoe -- UD Student "Auto" - Biography


Upon receiving this assignment I found myself racking my brain for a story that holds an important place in my past but could also prevent the reader from dozing off. What would I write about would it be my first time behind the wheel of the beast of a vehicle that was my mother’s Chevy Tahoe. Or would it be my traumatic experience of my first real accident as a young driver. In the end I took the third option which you can judge for yourself upon its exciting conclusion.
It all began two years ago my sophomore year in college. I remember like it was yesterday or at least the day before yesterday. My freshman experience at the University of Dayton at had not been a joyous one when it came to my truck, parking and the crowded streets of Dayton. As a freshman I was not allowed the privilege of a parking pass so I was forced to secretly and skillfully stash my truck along and around the streets of Dayton and Oakwood. By second semester I had even found a location in Irving commons that was free from the risk of tickets that you took along Irving Avenue. The problem with that locale was that it was a hike from my dorm making it inconvenient to use my truck as I pleased. So when I moved on to my sophomore year I readily bought a parking pass in the first available lot S2.
It was a decent location to park my truck, not too far from my classes. It was also not too far from my apartment, and it was right in the center of everything. At the time I was just thrilled to be able to have my truck back from time to time. A little walk was worth the safety and ease of the S2 lot. I didn’t have to deal with the drunken drivers of the student ghetto who routinely removed mirrors of trucks as they swerved their way through Keifaber and Lowes. I also did not have to worry about receiving another ticket from the campus or Dayton police. At the time it was a perfect situation.
My story really begins one night as my friend who I will call Chaz asked to borrow my truck to take out his newly acquired girlfriend. Being the good friend that I am I didn’t hesitate handing over the keys, with the one stipulation of parking my truck in the parking lot instead of any of the streets. Chad agreed and took her out that night. The next day he gave me back the keys and I forgot about much of the incident as the monotony of classes continued the next week.
As the next weekend rolled around I went out for the night like any normal college student. I had been drinking for a good while when a few of my friends announced they were going out to the movies. The thought of a bag of popcorn convinced me on the spot and I tagged along to see a film. We arrived at the movies and I ended up sleeping through the entirety of the film. When I awoke it was time to go so I got and left the theatre that night. The next morning I again woke in my room and reached for my cell phone and it was nowhere to be found. I scoured the levels and crevices of my small room and it was nowhere to be found.
After a few minutes of no luck I began to think back to the night before and it finally hit me. I had dropped my phone under my seat at the movies. The thought of my phone just sitting at the theatre made me very uncomfortable. I very quickly got my keys and headed down to the S2 parking lot and walked the whole lot from end to end but my truck was nowhere to be found. I looked and looked and it was obvious that it was not parked in that lot. My thoughts returned to Chaz borrowing my truck. I called up my friend and asked him where my truck was parked. He began to then explain to me that he parked it on Lowes even though I had told him beforehand to park my vehicle in the parking lot. I was a little upset that he had not followed my directions, however my thoughts returned to my phone so I let it pass.
I then proceeded to walk the full length of Lowes to again no avail. I again called Chaz on the phone and he repeatedly told me that he had parked it right on Lowes. After a short conversation in which I explained that it was nowhere to be found he quickly joined me down on the street in search of my truck. The first thought that came to mind was that someone had stolen my truck. It wasn’t the nicest or the most expensive truck however I had grown pretty attached to it since I bought it my junior year of high school. The idea that it was stolen scared me and I went back to my room and called the police who showed up within a few minutes. They took down my information and were about to start a report when they received information that the city had my car impounded.
Impounded! I was surprised how could that happen I thought to myself. Well it turns out it had been parked in a no parking zone for several days where it accrued several tickets until it was towed and impounded downtown. The news of all of this made me pretty upset I had already lost my phone today and now my car was somewhere in downtown Dayton and now I was going to have to pay for all of the tickets my friend earned me as he ignored my directions and parked on the street. I wasn’t taking any of this -- I made it clear that Chaz was going to pay for everything. He had opportunities to avoid the whole situation; however he was lazy and parked my car right next to our apartment building instead of walking a few minutes.
In the end my friend Joe drove me over to the movie theater and to my surprise I found my keys exactly underneath my seat. It was a great end to one of the longest most frustrating days of my life. The next day would get my truck back from the city after two hundred dollars worth of tickets and fees. Chaz did pay me back and felt very bad about the whole situation. Looking back at the whole story now it seems pretty humorous. I spent the whole day running around try to find my keys and my car and nothing could have been worse at the time. When I think about it all now it was a learning experience. Sometimes you have to figure out who you can trust with your things. I would let Chaz borrow my truck again after that fiasco. However I would always ridicule him for the events that
So there you have it my favorite yet miserable moment in my driving career. I believe it still counts even no real driving was involved. I hope I kept you entertained and didn’t lose anyone along the way. The impounding of my truck continues to live on in the back of my mind as well in the minds of many of my friends.

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