




     The Only Time I've Ever Been "Taken" 

                                             
                                             
                                                  By Gary Bryant

  
           One of the first thoughts that crosses a person's  mind when
     making a private party transaction is the possibility of being
     fleeced, i.e.  taken to the  cleaners, ripped off, snookered,
     swindled or just  plain robbed.  It doesn't happen often but when
     it does it can  hurt.  Take heart.  It isn't always the buyer that 
     gets pinched, sometimes it's the other way around.   

          It was time to let go of my van.  It had served me  well but
     I had decided to move on.  I placed an ad in  the local paper.  It
     wasn't long before a man and woman  appeared at my door.  It was a
     fine Saturday morning.  I  agreed to let them take it for an
     unsupervised drive.  

          In a few short minutes they were back and were willing to 
     purchase the vehicle for the full amount.  The man  handed me a
     check.  I had no reason other than common sense not accept it... 
     so I did.  Besides, the  thought of the money in the bank was more
     appealing  then the thought of that van still sitting in the
     driveway.

          I spent the rest of the weekend absorbed in  mental
     exercises of how I would spend this small  fortune on  Monday.  

          It was never to be.  I awoke Monday morning to  find the van
     parked in front of the house.  There was no  trace of the purported
     new owners or any indication  why my van came back.  The keys were
     in it.  I hurried to  the bank to find payment had been stopped on
     that check  only minutes before.     The van still ran fine.  The
     only difference was the  1300 miles added to the odometer reading. 
     Someone had  borrowed my van for a weekend getaway. 
 
          This was the only time I have ever been 'taken'.  It hasn't
     stopped me from buying or selling through  classifieds ads.  And
     nothing like that has ever  happened again, and that was eighteen
     years ago.




