The Cousins Chronicles
THE THIEF WHO DONATED TO THE LOAN (+/- 1964)
CHARLES (Snr)
So as you all have probably read by now, grandpa and grandma Parsons used to play cards on a Friday evening at one of the friends homes.
This meant that every four weeks they would be collected by brother John and taken to uncle Boetie's house and brought back early Saturday morning after the poker game, on uncle John's way back to Northcliff.
So, the budding young engineer, Charles, asked his Dad whether we could clean and polish the new Vauxhall motor car Dad had bought. He agreed, and the devious plan was hatched.
Brother Johnny, for the first time in his life washed the car whilst I made a duplicate key! I checked that it actually worked, and it did. So the plan was underfoot to go "jolling" once Dad and mum had left for the poker game.
We were so smart that we taped the fuel gauge so that we could fill it up again after the joy ride to actually the same place as before. Grandpa had a super-brain and would notice such a thing.
Well we did go jolling with the car all over Johannesburg with John driving, and a great job he did. On our way home we stopped at Dad's favourite garage to top her up (first mistake, Dad knew the owner personally).
John stood at the pump while I watched the petrol gauge, and as soon as it reached the measured mark we stopped filling the car! Mistake 2. We both never realised that the fuel gauge was hydraulic so it kept going up slowly. We never looked at the gauge again after filling.
Monday comes and Dad takes us to school, both of us at the back of the car with Blackie Swartz, a top snooker champion of his day, and he also worked at the breweries in Isando. Fortunately he was pro-kids! My Dad stops at his favourite garage and literally looks into the car window seconds later, staring directly at John and I and says, I have heard of thieves stealing petrol but never donating any to random people. Blackie catches on immediately and starts to defend us. I stayed mum and never ventured a remark at all. Car joy riding days over. Fortunately those days cameras on forecourts were few.
What I do wonder is what we would have said to a cop if we were caught, two kids hardly able to see over the dashboard but actoring like two little gangsters with our arms out of the windows.
Worth the bust!
END
Page Sponsored by :
