I’ve been violated.

Let me rephrase that. I feel violated. And a little stupid, if you want to know the truth. I’m assuming you do since this is a non-fiction blog. So here’s the scoop:

My vehicle was broken into a couple nights ago. Technically, it was entered without my permission because it was unlocked. That’s the stupid part. Both my cars were unlocked in my driveway.

Scene of the crime

I live in a safe neighborhood, or thought I did, so I got complacent concerning diligence toward thwarting thieves who count on my complacency. But if you’ve ever had someone steal your property, you know how creepy it feels. That’s the violated part.

I think I’m a fairly tolerant, easy-going person but when it comes to thievery, I am far from understanding. There’s no excuse for stealing. Well, if it’s a matter of life or death, like a single dad snatching formula to keep his baby alive, then I’ll cut you some slack. Otherwise you’re just a creep with no morals.

I’m fairly certain, however, that my particular thieves didn’t have babies to support. More likely, they were just bored teenagers looking to score some bucks with which to indulge at the local Burger King. That’s what happened once before when I (again stupidly) left my purse in my unlocked car. The thieves took my wallet then charged a $68 lunch at BK. That’s a lot of fries, if you ask me.

Lunch was on me

Back to Wednesday night….with both cars unlocked, the thieves had their choice of which to hit – my work SUV, piled with all kinds of goodies or my essentially empty SUV. The geniuses chose car #2, tossing onto the driveway what few items were stored in the glove box and console. At most they got a little cash I keep stashed for emergency lattes.

Had the idiots bothered to look inside car #1, they would have hit the jackpot. Just that day I’d collected loose coin totaling about $80 from our cat rescue collection jar. It sat in a paper bag on the front passenger seat. Other treasures included a speaker phone, money clamped to my visor, 2 motion sensor cameras, my garage door opener, my day planner with cash in the zippered compartment and a portable GPS.

Nee-ner, nee-ner on them. There would be no Burger King on me Wednesday night…

You may ask what my 3 dogs were doing while this was happening. I, myself, wondered the same. Usually my mutts can hear (with windows closed and music blaring) someone stepping on a twig 2 doors away. They relish the joy of detecting anyone or anything passing by their domaine, then barking like maniacs. But Wednesday night my pups weren’t on their game.

Perhaps their popcorn snack that night was not a good idea, resulting in carbohydrate comas. Yeah, let’s go with that. I, on the other hand, slept only 4 hours that evening, but still heard nothing. The thieves were smart enough not to make noise closing the car doors, so I’ll give them that.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’ve learned my lesson. Doors will be locked from now on and I’m considering getting surveillance with my next door neighbors, Paul and Vicki.

Howdy, neighbors

It doesn’t matter that I don’t have much to take or that thievery rarely happens in my neighborhood. I don’t want some creepy-no-morals-Burger-King-eating-car-vandalizing-little-putzes to take what is not theirs. And worst of all, shame my dogs in the process.

What shame looks like