Set Security Condition Orange

You know that times are tough and the situation is only going to get worse when it is not even safe to live in the “good” part of Garland anymore. My family home is nestled in one of the last sort of “safe havens” in the North Garland area. This is one of those subdivisions that have been able to maintain a certain leave of resident due to homeowners’ association fees and savvy real estate representatives. Don’t get me wrong, I am a man of the people and feel just as comfortable in the lesser neighborhoods than in the upscale, but you expect a certain level of security in those more upscale places. The reason I am writing about this because this weekend my truck was broken into. It was sitting in front of our house, where both my vehicles have sat since I first picked up a license at 16 years old. That means, for almost 11 years, my truck has not been broken into in my neighborhood. It has been hit a couple times and vandalized with an errant egg once, but no theft. I can only blame my new situation, not on the worsening conditions of the neighborhoods around us, where I have on good authority that gang presence and crime is up, but on the current economic situation. It has pushed many to the brink of desperation, and that desperation comes in the form of stealing and hawking whatever you can to make ends meet. Of course, the worthless consumer items that were taken can be replaced and better caution taken in the future to safeguard my belongings, but I can’t shake the uneasy feeling I have about leaving my truck anywhere anymore. That is what bothers me the most. My truck is my castle, my escape, the valuable thing I own and to feel creepy when I’m in it is not good. But what can be done? The police turn a blind eye and cold shoulder to thefts like this because tracking the stolen items is near impossible. And since my auto insurance already took a hit a couple months ago due to my need for speed, I can’t claim the loss without paying for it big over the next year in increased insurance payments. Better to bite the bullet and replace what is truly important and write the rest off to loss.

There is one other thing that is bothering me about this, but more on a spiritual level than on a comfort level. There were many things taken out of my truck: a GPS system, MP3 player, CDs, golf clubs, a work jacket and tools for work; but none of those losses effect me as much as the loss of my bible. They took my bible. Not the one I use all the time and not one that really holds any sentimental value, but it was a bible nonetheless. How bad is it that you take a bible? Now everyone is saying that they were just grabbing everything they could and the nice leather case it was in probably made them think it was something of value, but it is not, not in the conventional sense. You can pawn a bible, no matter how nice the case is. To think what they may have done with it too. If they couldn’t get any money for it, like with my jacket and stuff for work, they probably dumped it in the street or in a dumpster somewhere. Those things, which had value to me because of their use, would be better served still in my possession, rather than being discarded of. Theft is such an inane and worthless crime. No one wins.

This brings me to my heightened level of security right now. They took a set of keys out of my truck which were for the tool box in the back, my storage unit, and a private mail box. So, Saturday, in the wake of the attack, I had to go and purchase new locks for the first two and contact the mail box place about the last one. This rekeying of all my locks has made me appreciate all the places that I need to safeguard and that keeping a set of keys in the truck was just foolish. I now have all the new keys on my key ring. But, I have also begun contemplating getting an alarm system for the truck. I didn’t want to have to do that because I had an alarm on the old truck which barely served its purpose. By about a year in, the alarm was more for just the convenience of have a remote to unlock the doors than anything else. But, I was careless in my choice of alarm and where I had it installed last time. This time, I will probably not spare the expense of having the alarm done by a professional company that I know and trust, rather than the bargain shop that wired in the alarm so bad on the old truck that it took a professional installer 3 hours to remove. It just goes to show how much more important keeping your belongings safe during this downturn will be. No one ever mentions the effects of economic downturns like this. But, I thought I would. Maybe this will make the rest of you think twice about leaving your iPod in your car overnight.