STOP! THIEF!

I had a great night last night watching the movie Sherlock Holmes with a friend. Afterward we walked the mall. We bought some things for Christmas.
Well, this morning I am casually going about my business. Some of my morning business needs not be discussed here. More to the point, I was making coffee. The coffee maker sits right next to the sink and the sink is centered under the kitchen window. So, all to a sudden, and with much more fervor than usual, Bandit is barking. I look out the window to see him hit the fence next to the garage. His focus is this man wearing a stocking cap. I watched for a moment until I realized this is the man that has been stealing from me over the past year.
I have had ladders, lawn mower, fence posts, and more stolen. Only those that have been violated by these low down awful people know how much of a kick in the gut it is to have things taken. It is not the value alone. It is the VIOLATION! It leaves you without options. It makes you feel like hitting the wall with a closed fist. It makes you start suspecting all that live near you.
The most awful thing it does is make you consider what you would do if you had a gun handy. You probably are laughing under your breath and thinking I am kidding. Of course no one should get shot for simply stealing. It does not threaten ones family or self, so we know not to take it to that extreme.
Okay, back to the story. So once I realized the thief was right here, I wanted to get his license plate. I raced to the bedroom and pulled on my pants and grabbed a winter coat. Mind you I only had my under shorts on before Bandit's announcement. I rationally chose not to grab a gun. This choice was made to save time. I did not even slow down to put socks or shoes on my feet.
Because of the thievery I had started locking my gates. Knowing it would slow me down entering the combination and going through the gate, I chose to go out the front door and run around the house to the side yard. Then I sprinted bare footed over the very cold frozen grass to the even colder gravel and cement at the garage. As I turned the corner of the garage, the pickup was just turning the corner at the far end of our alley. And, no, I could not see the licence. Drat.
I sprinted back across the still cold grass to the front yard to catch another glimpse. Gone.
To my surprise, two of my neighbors were out at their cars. Are you kidding me. They were so close by and were totally oblivious to my misfortune. I ran past them to the corner. Nothing moving. I ran to this street's intersection with my alley. The corner where I caught a glimpse of the pickup.
Now the cold is starting to really scream at me. My feet hurt so bad. I wanted to run because of the cold, but I did not have the energy. I walked back to the spot of the crime. Yes, he had stolen again.
During the summer, I was given a cutting bit off a big loader. The contractor needed to install a new one because his loader was cutting more on one side than the other. The bit was only a little lop sided, so I asked for and was given the slightly worn big piece of steal.
This was heavier than I could load by myself. The contractor helped load it into my Tahoe. Once it was home, I affixed a cable to it and drove my Tahoe forward until it fell to the ground. I say all this to point out that the thief must have been pretty stout to quickly load this into his pickup.
The only evidence I could see were the tracks where he sped away. I am not good at describing something. I was trying to tell myself to make careful observations. What I remember of the pickup is that it was not a full size, it appeared to be a sea green/blue pickup.
So I guarded my memory as I walked across the extremely cold grass to the front door and inside to the comfort of home. Home: my castle!
Now I am sitting here telling you my sad story. I am so jaded by the lack of help from our city police. They are so impotent. They are legal thieves. They take much of my money to supposedly keep us safe. No, they are not keeping me safe from thieves.
Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away!
Okay, so what would I do if I had a gun? You see, I know very clearly what I should do. What I do not know is whether I could sort out everything with clarity in split seconds. So, for sake of discussion, what if you get the drop on the thief and have him dead to rights. Let's say he is surprised and tosses a wrench at you. What will he try next. Does he have a gun. What to do? We are not trained to know how to do this. There will be so many choices needing to be made in way too little time.
I just want to say that I do not want to be involved with an event in which I find out the answer. I hope I never have to point a gun at a human. I hope no human ever considers saving his bacon by using a gun on me. I will never invite the confrontation. I will do what it takes to keep me and my family safe.
Kayak Bandit