"You Have the Right to Remain Silent" - Why is Harry at the Police Station?

You may recall that last year when Nancy and I went to Asia - we bought a used "beater" Mac Ibook for the trip for $300. We figured if anything happened to it - it would be no big deal. Boy I wish we were that smart this year.

Last week I got a brand new Apple Macintosh Mac Book Laptop. It was really neat. So neat - I brought it along on the California trip. On Thursday disaster struck. Somebody swiped it.

When we woke up in the morning - the internet in our hotel was not working. So I decided to take my laptop with me to the convention center to get "online." I then carried it around all day. At 6:00 pm - Nancy and I went to a sidewalk cafe to have supper before the 7 pm show at the convention.

Usually when we sit down to eat - I keep the laptop right in front of my face. But this time - I don't know why - I put it resting on my foot under the table. What a big mistake. As they said in the movie - "it was gone in 60 seconds." Wait - it gets better.

After the original discovery - and panic - we gave the eating place my name and phone number - just in case someone finds it. Fat chance.

At 9:30 pm - we were back at the hotel and my cell phone rang. It was a girl that said she had my laptop. She wanted a "ransom" to return it - I am not kidding - $300. A little voice in my head said, "If you vant to see the Lindbergh Baby ever again - you vill pay the money." That would have been a bargain. So I tried to arrange a "rendez-vous." She called me 4 times from 4 different pay phones. What compounds the problem was that we were on different sides of the city and I did not have a car.

We contacted the police - and arranged a "drop" in our hotel lobby. I am not kidding. I was the "pigeon" holding the bag in the lobby - and the cops were stationed behind the check-in desk. Then I got another call - saying she wanted to make the exchange at the Middletown trolley station.

Now the police called in 2 plain clothes officers. Nancy and I piled into the car and off we went to the trolley station to set up the "sting." When we got there it was almost midnight - and Harry the "sacrificial lamb" was left on the train platform alone while one officer was far down the tracks - and the other officer was in the car with Nancy.

Every episode of Dragnet - Adam 12 - Highway Patrol - Mod Squad - and Car 54 - were spinning through my head. As each train came to the platform - I expected Popeye Doyle to pop out of the train and start shooting.

I wish I had a better ending - but after an hour or two - we ended the "stakeout" and went back to the hotel and went to bed. The girl never showed up - never called again. So my brand new computer is gone forever.

Probably that girl is reading this story using my laptop to read my blog - only in America.