Powder Keg Breached

After almost 14 years, I thought I had seen the Asst. Zookeeper in every mood, in every situation. Today, I was proven wrong.

At our zoo, I'm the one with the short fuse. I'm the one that will fly off the handle or get bent out of shape over small things. The Asst. Zookeeper is always unflappable. Unflappable to the point that it drives me crazy. There have been countless times that I WANTED him to get upset and yell because it would justify me being angry. It has never happened. . . until today.

Sometime this morning after 1:30 am, someone very stupid stole Dan's truck. It was parked behind the house and the keys were hanging just inside the back door (where all the keys hang). He got up early to take Heathen #1 hunting for opening day, and went out to find that his truck was gone.

He checked around the neighborhood to make sure that someone hadn't simply moved it as a joke, but it didn't turn up. After calling the police and starting the report with them, he took the van and drove through the less savory sections of town hoping to spot it. No luck. He called all his friends and asked them to keep their eyes open for his truck, then crawled back into bed.

At 10:30 am, his cell phone rang. His younger brother had seen the truck drive past his house and was calling to see if it was Dan's. Dan described the telltale dents (one of which I put there!) - and it was Dan's truck! There were two guys driving it.

Dan exploded. I have never heard him like that. He went tearing out of the house, asking for directions from his brother as he went. The back door slammed and I heard the motor on the van gun as Dan pulled out.

The chase went on for more than two hours. Both his brothers and his mother, as well as family friends, were helping tale the truck as the thieves raced all over three counties in an effort to get away. The local police were contacted and several groups of cops joined the chase as well.

During the entire event, my sister-in-law was listening to the police scanner and calling me with updates as to where everyone was. People called in from cell phones and we relayed messages back and forth between drivers to position cars to follow. My father-in-law, who was in Saskatchewan for work, helped in relaying phone calls.

The state police joined the chase when it hit Haws' Pike. As they were setting up in Seward to attempt to block the guy in and get him stopped, the thief decided to cut across a field - and hit a tree head-on at about 70 MPH. The truck is totaled, and the guys in the truck were arrested.

Thankfully, the police had the guys before my husband got to them. When Dan arrived on the scene, the guys were already in police cars and his older brother was able to corner Dan and get him calmed down. My mother-in-law stood and stared at the one kid through the police car window until he broke into tears. Turns out, one was 17 and emancipated. The other kid is only 15 or 16.

Dan spent the rest of the day keyed up. I've never seen him like he was today. He's always been a gentle person. I've seen him help strangers and calm down children. I've seen him spend time with elderly people and make people laugh. I've always jokingly said that I've never truly seen him angry. I've only seen him irritated. Well, I saw him angry today - and God help the boys who stole and destroyed his truck. They better hope they go to jail long enough for Dan to calm down.