So, last Thursday evening my husband and I went to a new restaurant in town called "Smoking Sloes". It features a homemade Barbeque menu. Since Pulled Pork is one of my favorite dishes and almost impossible to come by on Long Island, I just had to see what this place was all about.
When we arrived, the parking lot was starting to fill up which was a good sign (pardon the pun). I have to say that the food was fantastic! I noticed that the majority of people who came into the restaurant were picking up orders 'to go'. The young delivery boy was in and out several times as well. Business was booming!
When we had finished our meal and walked to the car, I noticed that the magnetic sign was missing from my driver's side door. My husband was about to enter the car from the other side and I asked him if the sign was still there, and it was. I cannot tell you how violated I felt that someone would just come up and steal the sign - and then, why not both? I've had these signs on my car since August and have parked everywhere, including all over Manhattan, and never had a problem!
My husband figured that some kids probably took it for fun. We walked around the entire parking lot and checked all the cars to see if perhaps it was placed on another car as a prank. We looked under cars and peered into the garbage dumpsters. Nothing.
I decided to go back into the restaurant and give the owner my business card in case the sign somehow turns up in the future. The owner asked if I was sure that it hadn't blown off when I drove there, to which I replied that I know that it was on the door when I parked the car because I always put the alarm on and check to make sure that the door is locked. I am always very aware of the signs. The owner said that he used to make the magnetic car signs and knew that they could blow off very easily. That comment made me a little suspicious...why was he questioning my assurance that the sign was indeed on my car when I arrived at the restaurant? So, I started wondering, could he have taken it?? He did arrive after we were already served. Perhaps he was going to paint over it and make a sign for his car that said "Smoking Sloes"!
When I got back to the car, my husband had been thinking too. He was wondering if perhaps the 'delivery boy' had taken it on one of his many deliveries. We began to discuss various theories and scenarios....we were turning into 'detectives' without realizing it! We had to laugh at ourselves because we were being a little ridiculous - after all, it was only a $50 sign!
I called my sign shop the next day and ordered a new one. I also ordered 2 for the back of my SUV - one for either side of the Explorer (no room for an entire sign). I actually had been thinking about getting signs for the back for some time, so this petty little theft actually became the catalyst for increased exposure.! Maybe having the sign stolen wasn't so bad after all!
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