A Thief in the Night

I grew up in the Mississippi Delta, a place where your personal safety and the security of your possessions were second thought.  The door to the house was never locked, and car doors were locked, only if you ventured to the "big city".

To this day, I've never been one for locks, especially in my own driveway, thinking why lock the door, when a thief is just gonna knock out your window to get what he's after.  I do lock up when parked away from the house, just as a small deterant to " walk by " thievery.

Yesterday I was headed to Clinton to do some assembly work at Home Depot.  Backing up, I noticed that the hatchback light came on.  Sometimes the door doesn't get shut all the way.  No biggie, I just hopped out and re-shut it.  I also stopped at the local Kroger to fill up my tank.  It wasn't til I reached my final destination, to find I had been violated during the night.  I parked my car, got a shopping cart to my tools, and then opened the hatch.  My first look, something looks strange.....

My rolling tool bag was gone.  Work table, and everything else was there.  Son of a bitch!  Got assembly work to do, a big day, and no tools!

Apparently, during the night, some lowlife cruised several neighborhoods looking for treasures.  My car has tinted windows, so nothing is exposed to the onlooker, especially at night.  They came looking for cars that are unlocked.  Bingo!  Tool bag!  Awesome find!  My unlucky day.

I called the spousal unit and told her my misfortune.  She placed a call to the Rankin County Sheriff's office for me, since I was in Clinton.

The Deputy took down all the vital info he needed,  since I had already made my initial repurchase of tools I needed for the day, I had a very good idea of the cost of the items stolen.  I've already exceeded $400 to replace tools, just to do my work for the day.

It appears that the tools are gone forever.  According to the Deputy, these crackheads don't bother going to pawn shops anymore.  They are easily profiled, so to avoid detection, they just sell the stuff on the street for their quick fix for the day.  If somehow they are caught before they dispose of the bounty, this would be the only chance for recovery.

Before the Deputy left, he mentioned that there was another theft in my neighborhood, so far.  The case file would remain open for a while, because it is a certainty, there will be more.

I was a bit disappointed that the thief didn't come back for more tools.  I've got a nail gun that I wanted to introduce him to.  The only comfort that I can find in this, is the Sheriff Department is out there, trying to keep me and the other residents of Rankin County safe.

I hope that the thief got a good price for my stuff so that he could have enough money for a really good fix.  I take pleasure in the thought that the theft of my tools have in some way contributed to the distruction of this guy's internal organs and most likely, an early grave.

It is now official, my doors will always be locked, and my garage door will be down. (Son's expensive road bike disappeared a year ago, off the wall, in the corner, out of sight, from passerby's.). I have been violated, and things will never be the same, what a shame.