blue card collection
We were burgled again yesterday. Last time it was the house (at 4am while we were upstairs in bed). This time it was the garage. The hubby's bike was stolen and the snowblower got a gander but nothing else is missing. Our aware and thoughtful neighbor heard the noise, saw the act, and called the police. Unfortunately, the police arrived after the perpetrator fled with the bike, but they were kind enough to call soemone to come and cover the busted side door with a massive piece of plywood.
The police also left us with documentation that is becoming all-too-familiar: the blue card. For those unfamiliar, the blue card (postcard-sized) contains phone numbers to contact regarding crime and a case number for whatever crime you have been a victim of. This makes our third blue card within 12 months. We had the pumpkin through the front door last Halloween, the house break-in last April, and now the garage. I would much rather have our garage breached than our home, but what's most irritating about being a victim of such crimes is the money and time it takes to repair the damage left behind. This event also marks our third damaged door, though thankfully it looks as though this one can be reparied versus replaced. This perp had the same m.o. as the first burglar in that he simply kicked the door in (same guy??? not real creative...). Replacing a door is not only expensive but also time-consuming. It can take a whole day (at least for amateurs) to properly fit and hang a door.
During my summer at the juvenile facility, I participated in a "victim impact group" for the young men. Speakers who were victims of various crimes, or representatives of victims, were brought in to speak each week. Many of these speakers urged the young men to consider the consequences for victims of their crimes beyond just the loss of a particular object or a specific injury, such as time, money, and energy to recover from the crime. I don't know what, if any, of this "sank in," but I said a lot of (internal) "amens" as I heard other victims recount the frustration and irritation of paying, in dollars and sweat, for the damange someone else has done.