February 27, 2002

[General] Living on cash.

So, last Sunday, my wallet was stolen.

Now, those who know me know that I lose things a lot. I lose my wallet once a year or so. I am very familiar with the pain that is credit-card and driver's license replacement. However, this time it is different. This time someone reached into my cart at Target and took my wallet. They took it and walked off with it. Actually, the police are certain that this person was a man so I will dispense with the gender neutrality. According to the security video, after he lifted the wallet, he walked to the electronics department where he rifled through its contents, likely while I was still looking at toasters. While I was picking out a new pair of spring PJs, he discarded what he didn't want in the radio aisle, behind the CD cases. While I was frantically rummaging through my cart, panic creeping up, he was likely calmly walking out of the store.

This feels different from just losing my wallet.

In the end, though, it was my own carelessness. I am inherently trusting of people. I would never pick up a wallet or a purse or a child out of a cart, no matter how easy it might seem to do so. I sometimes see babies, seemingly abandoned by their parents, just sitting in carts and I know then how so many end up kidnapped, because it must seem so easy. Just pick up the child and walk calmly out of the store.

Just pick up the wallet and walk calmly out of the store.

However, because I wouldn't do that, I assume that others will also restrain themselves. And so, I turn my back and I kneel down to get a closer look at the box of the toaster that I want and while I am doing this, he reaches into my life and walks off with a part of it.

He was kind enough to leave my drivers license. I guess even thieves understand that there's a special place reserved in hell for people that cause other people to have to go to the DMV. He left me my healthcare cards, too. Perhaps he realized that I have a crappy prescription plan? The last thing that he didn't take was my Blockbuster movie rental card. I'm a little bummed about that, though. I owe Blockbuster so much money that if he had taken that card and tried to rent something, he would have been arrested on the spot.

As it is, I am not certain that he will be arrested at all. The police have pictures of him, but that doesn't mean that they will find him. And, if they do, what will really happen to him?

The thing that I find most fascinating is that he didn't even try to use the cards. He didn't even get a tank of gas for his trouble. If he had been a smarter thief, he would have written down the numbers and left the cards. He could have gone online with those numbers later and had quite the spree--see, I never would have cancelled the cards if they had been in the wallet when Jay--Mr. Target Security--found it. I would have blissfully thanked my lucky stars to have dodged a bullet and would have paid for my jammies and my toaster and gone quietly home. By taking the cards, though, he assured himself that he wouldn't be able to use them. In this day and age, you would think that he would know that they would be cancelled before he got home.

In any case, there are new cards on the way and all is well. As soon as the new cards arrive, I will go back and buy the jammies and the new toaster. I am still looking forward to it, just maybe not so much as before. Maybe I will buy myself a new wallet, too, one that wasn't rifled through by a stranger.

Posted by Lori at February 27, 2002 3:25 PM