A week or so ago I discovered that my car had been broken into over night. Since I'm traveling for a month, there was a good bit of luggage in my car.
It was almost elegantly done--just a small window, perfectly smashed. My glove compartment and cds were laying on the passenger side floor, with just one record of work done to my car sitting on the seat. They stopped rummaging through the glove compartment when they reached the St. Christopher medal at the bottom that Hopkins left there. The Gideon Bible that she also left was splayed open on the floor.
It was hard to tell if they went through the trunk. I think that they did. It was in a slight disarray. I think they got my grandma's pearl necklace (utterly un-reportable in dollar amounts). But they missed some other jewelry (including a piece from my great-grandmother) that I'd thankfully shoved in my shoe. Things were a bit disheveled back there, but it could have just been from my own frantic packing, and I can't quite remember what I packed and what I didn't. But the idea that someone just ruffled through my stuff because they wanted to, showing off their power to take as much or as little as they liked, is incredibly upsetting!
The gas cap (which opens from inside the car) was open. Why in the world?
A woman stopped to sympathize while I was taping up the window (the last time I was taping up a window, it was in Waco). She said this area has had 60 break-ins recently. She said that they've just been taking small change. I can't really understand the urge to take small change.
The man who fixed the glass was wonderful (reinforcing my deep and abiding love of mechanics--I know, I know: he wasn't exactly a mechanic, but he was a person who fixes cars). I peppered him with questions while he worked: Probably it was my out of state plates that made the thief think he could pick up a GPS. They broke the small window because it was the easiest one to break. The rubber is harder to bend to fit into the window in the cold. He even vacuumed up the broken glass.
The fact that my car was broken into makes me feel vulnerable, like it could happen at any time, never entirely safe. It annoys me with its inconvenience (I spent the afternoon on the phone with the police, my insurance company, various glass companies, and my bank.) It also surprises me, in a way, that it doesn't happen more often--it wasn't too hard for someone to vandalize my property (not that he really got anything out of it).
3 comments:
I'm sorry to hear that. Our car was broken into a couple of weeks ago too, and they took a roll of quarters. I'm still not sure whether breaking into cars for $40 in change can be rationalized in some amoral, purely economic way or not. I suppose it costs nothing to smash a window, and the chances of being caught are minimal. On the other hand, if I wanted $40, I could work for about two hours (tutoring, editing, baby-sitting, something like that) without the risk and fear. And surely these people are somewhat risk and fear averse, or they'd rob people and houses, which would result in higher-value loot?
So sorry to hear about this! I hope you don't feel nervous all the time now. Alternatively, you can leave your car unlocked (with nothing of value inside) so that at least they won't ruin your windows again.
Diana: I thought about that the last time this happened, but then I was worried that people would try to hot wire it. Thoughts?
MSI: I think that's exactly what's so frustrating about all of this: their return is so low for the cost to me. Even if I had a nice GPS to steal, how much would that sell for? Still I would have to pay the $150 for the new window. It just doesn't seem to be that forward-thinking of a way to get money, even in purely economic terms.
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