I got my window replaced today (good thing too, because as I’m writing I hear rain on the windows). It was a relatively painless process which involved me dropping off the car and then drinking some instant coffee in the waiting area. The whole thing was over and done with in about an hour. I only had to provide a signature and a date next to it. Easy right? That got me thinking about the events that lead up to what happened on Sunday morning when I peacefully sleeping.
I grew up in a very small rural area in southwest Minnesota. The dairy farm that I grew up on was 1/5 mile from the mailbox, 3 miles from the nearest paved road, and 10 miles to the nearest town. Doors have locks only because that’s the way the manufacturer sells them. You don’t lock doors to vehicles; in fact you typically leave the keys in the sun visor so that you can easily find them. This was what I grew up with. A blissful unawareness to the crap that so many other people deal with daily.
But what are the actual chances of getting something taken from yourself? Obviously this changes with the area that you live in. What neighborhood or what side of town. Even in the worst neighborhoods, not every house gets broken into every night, so obviously the chance isn’t 100% guaranteed. How many times could I just have left my car doors unlocked and not had anything taken?
I moved back to my hometown about 5 years after graduation from high school. I then lived in town for 3 years. I think in that time I only locked my house doors when I was home and I didn’t want interruptions. Family walks through the door while they’re knocking. It’s not rude, it’s perfectly acceptable behavior. There’s a trust there. I have to constantly remind myself that it’s not acceptable behavior where I currently live, but back at home it’s just fine.
This is where my naivety came in. I had a decent enough stereo in my car. It wasn’t the most expensive thing in the world, and it did come with the car when I bought it, but the biggest advantage to having it was the ability to plug my iPod in and listen to my music if there wasn’t anything interesting on the radio (or if NPR was on repeat from what I’d heard already). I drove for longer than 2 miles today and my hand kept going up to turn on the radio because it was quiet, and I like having something to listen to. Unfortunately there’s only an open space where my driving relief used to be. Back on track. I did almost everything that I was supposed to do; I locked my doors, I had all my windows rolled up. I forgot to take my faceplate off and take it with me. I’m using ‘forgot’ very loosely. There wasn’t a conscious thought to the ‘take it or leave it’ internal monologue. I’ve never removed the faceplate to that stereo in regards to a security precaution. I’d become used to dealing with the non-threat of opportunistic thieves. Since my car doors were locked and the windows were up, there wasn’t an opportunity. However, the person(s) yesterday decided that my window really should have been down.
I guess when I do replace my stereo I will get something that does what I need it to, and I will actually be removing the faceplate and being more diligent to remove anything of perceived value from my car. I will also make sure to ‘valet-proof’ my car so that if anyone does get in, they can’t get into the glove box (without serious effort) or the trunk. I already took these steps yesterday. It sure would be nice not to have to do that as it makes all of it a slight inconvenience to myself, but that’s the price I pay for wanting to keep my stuff that I worked hard for.
Make sure you do the same, learn from me, not from hundreds of glass shards on your car seats.
–dez