I was having a discussion with a wise friend of mine about trademark infringement. (This was several years ago.) She gave me some advice that I use a lot. I had asked, "What do you do when someone else is using your mark?" She said, "It's really a rather Zen matter of seeing the vase already broken. Enjoy the vase in the Now."
I've used this advice in reference to my home, which I walk away from for months on end. The "Vase already broken" involved gang-style graffiti, or fire. So when I got the call Thursday that our home had been vandalized ... it was not as painful as it could have been.
We figured out that it had probably been a group of kids, due to the level of sophistication involved (no credit card charges, the bulldozer and mower are still here, and they tried to start my van with a house key that they found.) It appears that they took us for Winter Texans (which we are in a way), and expected to come back over time and collect things of value. The only things missing are the TV, DVD player, and a radio. The gold-plated silverware Mom gave me was out on the counter, and the multi-function fax and printer are still here, as well as the wireless router. A couple of windows are broken.
My van is in pretty bad shape; 1 broken window, a smashed VHS player, they beat on my dash for awhile, and opened a 5 gallon bucket of 90 weight gear oil inside. Phil had already tossed out there that if the van needs too much work, we'll shop for another one ... so that took some of the edge off. They did not find the 10 cd changer under the back seat, so the music is still there (bonus!)
As for what we found today when we got home ... it's pretty much pointless vandalism. Fire extinguisher dust covers every room (except our bedroom, because our neighbors ROCK!!! and they came over to clean before we got here.) Dressers emptied and drawers smashed ... the office is an ocean of paperwork.
LaFeria's Finest called me asking for a description of the TV screen in the ceiling of my van. I gave it to them. Then they called again to ask for a description of our bikes. I described Phil's Giant Bike (both in name and in size), and mentioned that my bike shop had record of the serial #. They told me they have Phil's bike, and I should come in when I get back to town. They had seen a young man walking down the street with my (van's) TV screen in his hand, and took him in for questioning. When they went to his house, Phil's bike was there.
The hidden blessing? (Well that *IS* the point of this blog after all) ... The untouched file cabinets! I have been expecting to have to refile 7 years worth of data, and the file cabinets are untouched. I'm still changing all of our banking and credit card accounts, which is rather a pain in the ass, but c'est la vie.
I've tried to post more than one pic, and an unable to do so. Phil and I will hit the clean-up project hard in the morning. I'm supposed to go to the police station to pick up Phil's bike and give a list of the things that are missing. I'll update later.
Rhonni
Labels: Paradise
