When my beloved Infiniti Q40 was stolen in July of 2022, I could not have known it would spark the series of events that have defined my past year-and-a-half.

I still have a few raw feelings about everything that’s transpired. (The neighborhood I left behind. The life I’m rebuilding.) But with most of the stress and craziness now behind me, day-to-day life has normalized. I think I’m ready to start sharing stories from the experience. And that’s what this post represents. The launch of a new essay series for 2024: “Life Stuff.”

But first, I must get a few things off my chest…

When some lazy-ass thief haphazardly targets someone else’s hard-earned stuff, they have no effing clue all the ways they’re disrupting that person’s life! Not just financially. Not just inconvenience-wise. My actual health has been negatively impacted by the events of the past year-and-a-half. All due to some stupid kid’s thoughtless actions.

Also—and this is something I never hear people talk about—both one’s general trust in people, as well as their patience and compassion in dealing with them, can become eroded. Here in my new apartment complex, I have young neighbors who definitely do not deserve the mistrustful, judging eyes that I’m quick to cut at them. Or maybe they do. You never really know.

(Oh, and on a related note: Apartment living sucks at age 53…in every way imaginable! Just thought I’d throw that in there…)

But it’s time I started getting past all this. We deal with life’s crap so we can keep moving forward, right? So, before I get too carried away with my bellyaching, let’s lay out a quick timeline of major events/stages:

• Car Theft #1. July 31, 2022. The car was recovered just a week later…but took several weeks to get back in my possession. That’s when the real fun began! (Dealing with insurance, the car rental, my employer, the DMV, and the body shop…all at once.)

• Car Theft #2. February 8, 2023…barely over six months later. I decided I’d had enough of South Memphis…time to go. To this day, former neighbors accuse me of letting the thugs “run me out of my own house.” Nope…that choice was totally mine! (In fact, it would have been more cowardly of me to hunker down, do nothing, and just hope “those horrible people” might someday leave me alone. Instead, I finally decided to unshackle myself from that money pit of a house, and the forsaken neighborhood it stands in. But more on that later.)

• The “30-Day Trial Period”. Mid-February – Mid-March…the first few weeks following Car Theft #2. This was the abbreviated timeline I put myself on, in order to secure new transportation and living arrangements. Not an easy feat for a man on the tail-end of middle-age. But believe it or not, this mad rush was for no other reason than to outrun car rental fees that the insurance company would flat-out refuse to pay after 30 days! (I wasn’t about to go thru that ordeal twice.)

• The Transition Stage. When I moved in March of 2023, there was still a lot of heavy lifting to do…literally. (My knees definitely weren’t up to the task.) I remind myself that this little apartment is not permanent—a better home is in my future. Which means I likely have another full year of “transition” left. But at least those “30 Day Trial” goals were met, right? Small victories…

For those further interested in reading The Car Theft Chronicles (AKA “Life Stuff”), I’ll be writing about events and issues directly related to the above timeline. This means not everything will be exactly music-related. Although, a topic I definitely want to explore is how life’s disruptions—minor or major, occasional or everyday—can affect one’s musicality, and/or other creative passions. (If you’re an artist, that’s a big deal. It surely was for me.)

Just writing this short piece (which unfortunately went kinda long) has been quite therapeutic. Maybe this series will help others, too…not just salve my own wounded ego. Either way, thanks for staying tuned, and enjoy! See you in the Comments section…