Stephen Yeargin

I walked out the door Monday morning to see a tow truck trying to scoop up Samantha’s car (the last in the lot) to move it so that they could paint the lines and re-seal the lot. I admit that the management had tucked notices in our door that the project would begin that morning, but I had been convinced that we would have plenty of time to get the cars moved or at least that the lot would be roped off the night before. Not so much. The tow truck company, eager to make a buck, happily tried to cart off our two vehicles (as he had been instructed) and the management was prepared to charge us $200 to move both cars.

I spent a good seven minutes in the manager’s office doing more arguing than I think I ever had to do as a college newspaper editor. Her argument was simple: we were warned, and now we have to pay the consequences. Mine was more to the point: they have my license plate numbers and telephone numbers on file for a reason, and towing my cars was an extreme measure to take when a simple phone call or a knock on my door would have resolved it. Furthermore, I question their integrity after an agent admitted to me that the intention was to make a $75 per car profit from the ordeal. A full lot of cars would have been quite a windfall. I left very angry (and a bit hurt), and have all but resolved to not set foot in that office again until I cheerfully deliver our notice of intent to vacate next year.

I did accomplish something that day despite the lousy start to an already busy week. Nate Baker was hosting “Nashville’s Nearly Impossible Crossword Puzzle” on his site over the weekend, and my wife and I had done some serious damage to quite a few of the clues. Between spikes in my blood pressure from talking with a hapless leasing agent over the phone, I was able to finally crack the last one. For my efforts, I was to be awarded a coveted Opryland Belt Buckle tonight at the CentreSource Mixer. Awesome.