A GPS (and life) Lesson!
Today started out as a normal vacation day for me. I had tons of errands, dropped almost a grand on new tires for my car and was late for an appointment at the Mac store for one of my many one hour "one on ones". I pulled into the local mall parking lot and traversed isle after isle looking for a spot and finally found one after about what seemed like an eternity. I grabbed my MacBook and rushed in so I would not be late to my first appointment (like they were waiting for me).
The 65 minutes with the Mac expert went well and was truly one on one. Afterward I had to sneak next door for a last minute gift for my wife and then back to the car to drop off the laptop and bags. I weaved in and out of cars on the way to mine and when I got there I felt time stand still. My window was gone and the majority of the glass and debris was inside and on my seat. Next thing in my mind was the obvious, "someone broke in and grabbed my GPS off the dashboard". That was the easy pill to swallow. Next was a gasp when I thought about the hundreds of dollars of gifts in the trunk and my D3 sitting there in my Tamrac bag. I had a feeling this loser was only after one thing in the bright daylight and I was right, he only took the GPS.
I called 911 since I had no way of finding mall security and they said they would send someone out to investigate. After what felt like an eternity a nice police officer pulled up and said "we caught him". He was driving around with his child in tow and using a slingshot to break into car after car, in front of Macy's and Nordstrom’s. Long story short, he did get caught by someone that witnessed a break in and got his tag and had an entire carload of goodies stolen from unsuspecting shoppers.
The police called my two hours later and said if I could “identify my GPS system” that I could have it back and he would be charged with the first of many. I was there in 45 minutes and put my four digit code in and confirmed it was mine. Bottom line, even when you are in a hurry, hide those GPS systems and NEVER leave anything of higher value in sight, even for a few minutes.
Today I had a bit of a reality check. Sure I was violated and had my $600 GPS stolen and returned but it put life in perspective for me. My 3 year old nephew is in Hopkins with brain cancer and going through chemo every two weeks and fighting for his life everyday and I am pissing and moaning about a toy. Today, tomorrow and through the holidays please remember what is important to you and never forget it. To all of you on this forum, have a great and safe holiday and hide those “toys”
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2286/1220071544iv1.jpg
Here is the article about the thief.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-md.ho.arrest22dec22,0,4060055.story
The 65 minutes with the Mac expert went well and was truly one on one. Afterward I had to sneak next door for a last minute gift for my wife and then back to the car to drop off the laptop and bags. I weaved in and out of cars on the way to mine and when I got there I felt time stand still. My window was gone and the majority of the glass and debris was inside and on my seat. Next thing in my mind was the obvious, "someone broke in and grabbed my GPS off the dashboard". That was the easy pill to swallow. Next was a gasp when I thought about the hundreds of dollars of gifts in the trunk and my D3 sitting there in my Tamrac bag. I had a feeling this loser was only after one thing in the bright daylight and I was right, he only took the GPS.
I called 911 since I had no way of finding mall security and they said they would send someone out to investigate. After what felt like an eternity a nice police officer pulled up and said "we caught him". He was driving around with his child in tow and using a slingshot to break into car after car, in front of Macy's and Nordstrom’s. Long story short, he did get caught by someone that witnessed a break in and got his tag and had an entire carload of goodies stolen from unsuspecting shoppers.
The police called my two hours later and said if I could “identify my GPS system” that I could have it back and he would be charged with the first of many. I was there in 45 minutes and put my four digit code in and confirmed it was mine. Bottom line, even when you are in a hurry, hide those GPS systems and NEVER leave anything of higher value in sight, even for a few minutes.
Today I had a bit of a reality check. Sure I was violated and had my $600 GPS stolen and returned but it put life in perspective for me. My 3 year old nephew is in Hopkins with brain cancer and going through chemo every two weeks and fighting for his life everyday and I am pissing and moaning about a toy. Today, tomorrow and through the holidays please remember what is important to you and never forget it. To all of you on this forum, have a great and safe holiday and hide those “toys”
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2286/1220071544iv1.jpg
Here is the article about the thief.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-md.ho.arrest22dec22,0,4060055.story
posted by John Middlebrook at 12:07 AM
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