Kitty Hits the Crime Blotter

Some criminal slashed the roof (in two places) of my convertible, Kitty (so named because I got it during the same week last year when Kitty Carlisle Hart died), last night and reached into my backseat in order to steal a lightweight jacket (that I really liked), my relatively new USC cap (!) and assorted CDs and CD cases.

Ironically, the same thing happened about six years ago when I had Elian (the car I got the week the FBI broke into that house in Miami to return that little boy to his father in Cuba). I lived in Hollywood at the time and would you believe the Los Angeles Police Department caught the guy who did it and ultimately I got my CDs back. (It was actually very cool visiting the LAPD Evidence Storage Facility in the Valley to identify my lost items.)

Now that I live in West Hollywood my law enforcement services are provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. So I went to the West Hollywood Sheriff Station to file a crime report today.

You should have seen the officer's face when I told him one of the missing CD covers was "for the original cast recording of 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' starring one Miss Carol Channing." (Fortunately it was one of the 6 CDs actually in my player, so the crook just got the jewel box.)

I told him this had happened to me before and the LAPD had succeeded in returning my stolen items. With a good sense of humor the Deputy Sheriff taking my report assured me that if the LAPD had returned my CDs before he was confident the Sheriff's Department would do the same in even less time.

Unfortunately one of the CDs that was snatched was a Pet Shop Boys CD GeezBob had given me as a gift many years ago. It's one that was stolen six years ago and I got back. So maybe it'll come back to me again.

I'm not very excited about paying to have my convertible roof replaced (but given my deductible I don't think it makes sense to file a claim with my insurance company). But on the upside I'd made it to this point in my life without ever entering the West Hollywood Sheriff Station (either by walking in or being "brought" there) and now I've seen it for myself. It's clean and the staff was very kind to me.