The Case of the missing Coconut Earring

I lost one of my favorite earrings. It’s the partner to this one and I like to wear them with these tops. Maybe I have too much brown in my wardrobe but I’ll worry about that later. I have been a little bit desperate since it went missing. Let me put it another way. If I were stranded on a deserted island and I could have three things with me I would pick, my coconut earrings, food and water. I purchased the pair in March of 2009 in the Rivera Maya. My mom, my sisters and I took a vacation because we needed a diversion from overwhelming grief that was caused by the unexpected loss of my father. Once we were in Mexico we took a side trip to Tulum to see the ancient Mayan Ruins. The guy on the bus with the microphone said we must purchase a silver or a gold plated cartouche that the Mayan people would make with their own hands while we visited the ruins and they would stamp our initials in them in their Mayan alphabet and that the money would go toward their schools and that they lived in one of the poorest sections of the world and that if we didn’t order one that we would be forever haunted because this was the only place in the world we could possibly purchase one and that we would have to come all the way back to Mexico after many sleepless nights if we did not. We knew we could not afford to come back anytime soon. We decided that we’d rather be safe than sorry and all four of us obediently filled out the order forms. On that same day in one of the shops at Tulum I purchased a pair of coconut earrings. We returned to the states safely a few days later and found that our grief was still with us, but so were our Mayan Pendants and my coconut earrings. Six months later Sven and I were robbed. Someone broke into our house while we were away at work. Well okay, fine, the crook just walked into our house since the door wasn’t locked and most likely our one hundred pound, yellow lab retriever mix, Dakota, happily showed him around the place. All of my jewelry was stolen, all of it that is, except for that pair of coconut earrings from Tulum. I’d been trying to separate myself from them and I’d worn a different pair that morning. That thief left the coconut earrings sitting right there on the vanity, like they weren’t good enough for him. He took myfully loaded earring and necklace rack right off the wall, the earring and necklace rack that my Dad made for me. He took the dish of earrings sitting right next to the coconut earrings on the vanity, the ones I’d been too lazy to hang back up on the rack. He grabbed Sven’s prized old Hummingbird Guitar too. But that dick did not take my coconut earrings. What a slap in the face. What a jerk. I have never been so insulted in my life. The intruder got caught after breaking into several other homes and we eventually got everything back, everything that is except the few silver and gold items that he’d melted down and pawned, including my cartouche from Tulum and a pair of earrings that another victim claimed were hers at the police station and they were NOT. But that is another story. The guy with the microphone on the bus in the Rivera Maya had been right. I couldn’t sleep. I had to go back to Tulum. My cartouche was gone. Sven and I flew to Mexico the next spring and I bought another one. The last time I wore the coconut earrings was this past Wednesday and yes I had been at BS Club. It was the night that my sister won the gigantic pot in the shake of the day. But I don’t think that has anything to do with anything. I arrived home that evening around 7:00 PM and Sven and I took Hunter for a short walk. I put on a heavier jacket and wrapped a scarf around my neck before going out the door. Later that night as I was readying for bed I was shocked to see only one coconut earring hanging from my lobe. I hollered down to Sven, "Hey Sven, will you see if my coconut earring is on the couch. I'm missing one." He didn’t see it, but I wasn’t worried. The next day Sven took the couch apart and looked under it. I still wasn’t worried. I went right to the hook the scarf was hanging on. It was not there, not on the floor underneath the scarf, not stuck to the jacket collar, not, not, not. Maybe it was in the car? Not. Okay then it has to be out on the trail. I wasn't worried. How hard could it be to find it? It is now five days out. I’m a bit weary but I haven’t given up. Please keep your eyes peeled for that coconut earring. I think it will look something like this. Can you see it? It has to be somewhere and Sven says we can’t go to Tulum every time I lose something.   [divider] [/divider]  

CHAPTER II - The Case of the Missing Coconut Earring

I found it.

It can be fixed and I canceled my flight.