Sam is dead

I’ve had Sam the scooter since 2010.  He’s old, ugly and beat up but we’ve been fixing him up slowly – with a new wind-shield, new brake clutches, new centre cover and most recently, I bought a new box which made grocery shopping a whole lot easier.

But the most important part is that he’s been very dependable, bringing me from point A to point B most of the time and I’ve always preferred two wheelers over four on account of how it’s a lot more easier to find parking as well as the more cost effective fuel consumption.

Unfortunately, the area where we live in is very happening, especially during the summer. Once there was a burglary attempt in our apartment, then one of the mirror was stolen from Sam. Even our friend who’s living in another zone had his safe burgled from his apartment.

The last time when I used Sam was on Saturday. I did a quick grocery shopping to get some ingredients to make some apple crumble for a BBQ meet later in the evening. When we reached back home, it was pretty late so we didn’t notice anything amiss.

It was only in the late morning when Cart peeked out of the window and asked me, “Where’s Sam?“. Alarmed, I quickly rushed down to search for him. He wasn’t there. I looked all around the vicinity. Still not there and no trace of him. Someone actually took the effort to carry him off? Someone actually stole my old, ugly beat up scooter? Cart hypothesised that Sam, being an old scooter, tend to be used for snatch thieves and then discarded somewhere else.

So we made a police statement soon after that so we’d be in the clear should there be any traces of crime. We were lucky that there was someone serving us, considering how a lot of things are closed in August. The whole day, I guess I was either in a state of shock or my brain was still trying to process what was going on but I didn’t feel much. When we recounted our story to my in laws, my MIL thinks that it could be abandoned in the area, but I wasn’t feeling very hopeful.

The next day, I heard the intercom buzz and a kind neighbour said that she found a blue scooter next to the church. A little bit hopeful, I quickly rushed down to investigate. Sam was there, right where she said. But he was in such a bad condition – his seat was broken, the FR panel was ripped apart and the neck of the scooter was broken – I couldn’t put my key in the ignition so I couldn’t tell if the engine was still working or not. As bad as how Sam looked before, I just couldn’t bear to see him now.

In fact, it’s Cart who snapped these pictures. Not me.

No idea the reason this part was broken for. 

The hinge was forced open.

The strange part is, the riding gloves which I left in the scooter was still there, as well as the chain and lock. These combined, costs quite a bit. However, they took my straw hat which costs around 10 euro. I don’t understand why?

So if you ever see a guy in Rome wearing a straw hat with a pink band on it …

Cart’s advising me to to get Sam fixed while we transition on getting a new one. I don’t know, it seems like a waste of money. Moreover with my mechanic coming back from his vacation in September, seems like a waste of time too.