Yesterday I was at the Oakland Zoo most of the day with friends. While there, I receive a text from
@SacramentoWeber with a link to a listing for a free curb alert Weber. I open it and see what looks like a true grey OTP. Knowing I will be at the zoo for at least a couple of more hours, I grind my teeth and accept the fact it will be gone by the time I can make any attempt to pick it up.
Three hours later, I get home and look up the address for the kettle. I reach out to the listing person, asking if the kettle is still available. She responds it is, but has just left her house and it is out at the curb. With her address being 21 miles (38 minutes) away from me and a bridge toll, I make the decision to wait until she returns home in an hour and a half, to verify it is still available. By this time my phone is buzzing off the hook with texts from other WKC members, advising me of this kettle. Apparently I was the closest member to the "sellers" address. After a long hour and half wait, she texts me and says the kettle is still at the curb. I respond, telling her I am on my way to pick it up and could she drag it away from the curb so I don't make the drive needlessly. I offer to pay her $10 if she holds it for me. She responds no problem.
As I follow my Waze app and get closer to the address, I see a noticeable change in the type of homes. I soon find myself in a neighborhood of larger estate homes. Pulling up in front of the address, I find the kettle in the driveway next to pile of what appears to be junk going to the garbage. Finding no body home, I text the seller, advising her I am at the residence. She tells me to go ahead and take the kettle and not worry about the $10.
When I get home, I Zillowed the address and the surrounding homes. The homes ranged in price from $3 million to $5.5 million. That would explain why a kettle can sit at the curb for over 5 hours and wasn't touched.
I am a firm believer in kettle karma and if things are meant to be, they will be. I think the fact it was a Friday at the height of commute traffic in the Bay Area might have helped me out also. Had it been a Saturday or Sunday, I might not have been as fortunate with the kettle still being available after 5 hours at the curb.
Oh, by the way, we had a great time at the zoo.