On Being Larcened (is that a word?)

Car break-ins or thefts are considered larcenies not burglaries. My reaction after discovering the window broken on our car in San Francisco and our possessions gone followed 6 of the classic 7 phases of grief.

I quickly passed through shock and denial. It was obvious what had happened. There was no actual phase of bargaining, it didn’t apply. But the guilt aspect did set in and remains through the other phases. I knew better than to leave anything visible, but never having a car broken into I didn’t think seriously that it would happen to me. The vacation was going so well that I relaxed too much.

Anger of course followed. I am saddened that there are people that prey on others and see them only as a source of money with no regard to the effect they have on those people’s lives. I’m mad at myself for being so stupid. We will absorb the loss, accept what is gone but forever have that act mar the memory of what otherwise was a wonderful vacation.

The next phase depression sets in when I remember what we did lose. Wonderful pictures ; Penny’s laptop and embroidery software ; Most of our large SD Memory cards; Our Bluetooth earpieces; Our nice backpacks and good laptop case; Both of our travel binoculars; my digital voice recorder; an SDHC card reader; a 1 GB jump drive; Penny’s prescription sunglasses; 1 of the set of 6 flashlights we got at Christmas, a plastic bottle full of quarters a windbreaker and a hoody. This list may grow as we remember more or try to use something we don’t have.

Finally there is acceptance (and hope). Both Penny and I are not letting this spoil everything. We focus on what we have and not what was lost. We will replace those material items we lost. Penny gets to shop for a new laptop and we all know how she likes to shop. I’ll hopefully not get lazy about security.

I do find it interesting how something like this affects you. Both Penny and I did not sleep well for a couple of nights after wards. I kept going through all the little stupid decisions I made and hoping that in some way we might recover some of our stuff. I found myself thinking about what I should have done. This incident was caused by my actions but I can understand now how people who have not done anything wrong and have some physical or material harm done to them still feel guilty and somehow responsible when they aren’t. It is just the way we react to these situations. The little ache in my stomach will fade with time. We don’t have some photos but we have fine memories that cannot be taken from us. Penny took the biggest hit in this yet she was the one who had to rein me in emotionally and put things in context.