I love my mail, mostly because no matter what story you tell, someone just has to one-up it.
Last week I told the story of Jeanette Oxelson, a 64-year-old Denver woman who had her 1988 Jeep Cherokee stolen from behind her house.
The day the column runs comes this story, told by someone identifying themselves only as “njmeinders.”
His or her car was 18 years old, had 160,000 miles on it. It was stolen on Oct. 17, 2003. On Christmas Eve that year, the owner got a parking ticket.
They found the car near the University of Denver. “Not a scratch on it,” the letter said. “It started right up, and the library books and a full carton of cigarettes were still in the car. “
That wasn’t the only person thinking of Jeanette Oxelson.
A man named Al Plumhoss wrote to say he understood the woman’s fondness for her Cherokee. He and his wife have 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2006 Cherokees.
“I have thought about not needing four cars, and about getting rid of the ’91,” Al wrote. His ’89 has 250,000 on it, so he knows the ’91 “still has a lot of life left,” he wrote.
And then came the kicker: “If Jeanette does not get her Cherokee back and gets no better offers, we will sell our ’91 to her for $1.” He even included a photo.
Oxelson, housebound and still recovering from her nasty cancer fight, wrote me Friday.
“I wanted to let you know that these people are truly angels,” she wrote. “Al and his wife, Jeanine, brought the car over yesterday, and we signed all the paperwork. They are the nicest people ever.
“I am going out today to get the license plates, and most importantly, some anti-theft devices,” Oxelson wrote. “Life is good, and I’m ready to rock!”
Man, I do love a happy ending.
John P. Cardie of Westminster wrote me again. Readers may recall him, and his “Ten Steps to Incarceration” life credo which, when we last spoke, he was hammering into the heads of his four grandsons.
He also had written Jay Cutler in January 2008, incensed the then-Denver Broncos quarterback was always featured in photographs wearing his baseball cap backward.
He sent me a copy of his letter to Cutler in which he tells him he is bound for prison if he doesn’t shape up.
“Mr. Cutler,” he wrote, “it all starts with wearing a baseball cap on backwards. The moment a kid starts wearing his backwards, his IQ drops 15 points.”
In a new, three-page letter, complete with a photocopy of Denver Post articles, John Cardie was exultant.
“Cutler: Adds respect to vocab,” was the article he sent along, and the first paragraph he highlighted with yellow pen was:
“There are signs beyond words that indicate Cutler is maturing,” the story read. “He is still fond of baseball caps, but he no longer sports them backward.”
“It PROVES my theory about wearing baseball caps on backwards!” he wrote. “He also quit being rebellious, according to the article, and is less defiant.
“Maybe your readers can learn this lesson, too. As the saying goes, ‘clothes don’t make the man, but they can surely un-make him!’ “
Bill Johnson writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-954-2763 or wjohnson@denverpost.com.
