Every once in awhile something happens that reminds you that you are just as susceptible to crime as anyone else, no matter where you live or how safe you feel.
This morning I had one of those moments. I walked outside around 8:00 a.m., as usual, to walk the dog. I walked right out the front door and turned right to do our tyical loop around the block. As I was coming back around the block towards the house again, I noticed that there were a bunch of pieces of shiny metal lying around underneath my roommate's car. At first I thought they were bottle caps... or something similar. Then I realized, his car was on blocks! His tires and rims were gone and his car was jacked up, resting on a cinder block and a piece of wood on one side and rock on the other side. I was astonished! Immediately, "Not in THIS neighborhood, NOT where I live!" flashed through my brain. I thought to myself that it had to be a prank - but after a few seconds I decided that would be way too elaborate a plan for any of our friends to try to execute.
I went inside to tell everyone but Brett had already seen his car and was equally as astonished as the rest of us. He just got new tires this week and was pretty upset that he was out that money as well as whatever deductible he would have to pay his insurance company. He called the cops - when the cop arrived he said, "I have to be honest with you, we probably aren't going to catch whoever did this." Comforting. What none of us could really understand, however, was who would do such a thing in our quiet little neighborhood. We live in a very nice area of Arlington in a neighborhood comprised of families with young children and older folks. I think we are the youngest people on the street. It seems like such an odd place for someone to come to rip off a car - and no one heard or noticed a thing!
I can't even tell you how often I leave my car unlocked or a window open - even the front door sometimes! Maybe it's that I grew up on a farm with the nearest neighbors miles away (was I worried a deer or a mountain lion might break into my room a time or two? maybe so, but i was probably six at the time). Maybe I have some sort of unquestioning trust of man-kind (it's probably not that). Maybe I am just comfortable and feel safe enough that I shouldn't have to always shut my windows before I go to work. Or maybe I'm just lazy! Who knows? All I know is that now, I will think twice about leaving anything unlocked or open.
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