The Curious Case of the Stationary Chevy

A New York City Mystery
SOLVED! JUNE 2020 (see epilogue)

“Has it really been here since before I was born?” asked Luna, our 5-month old West Highland White Terrier, when informed the purple 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo we always pass on our walks around the block had been parked in the same spot for a year. On this particular walk, a fresh orange parking ticket slipped under the car’s driver’s side windshield wiper flapped in an early December blue-skied icy New York breeze.

“Yes, Luna. Since at least January.”

“Wow! A whole year in the same spot? That’s a gas!”

“Full tank.”

“So the street underneath the chassis hasn’t been cleaned since 2017?” Luna got wide-eyed.

“Correct. The street cleaners go around it every Monday.”

“So I could poop under the car and no one would know?”

“Well,” I pondered, “sure –”

“Amazing!”

“– but let’s not add to the mess this street already is. I’d be happy to pick yours up even if it wasn’t the law.”