[vanbeke]

Fascinating topic -

I used to live in Detroit, with several independent pharmaceutical entrepeneurs living in the neighborhood. Our home was broken into 4 times, twice while we were home. Sometime after the first, but before the Last, we put up bars on the doors and windows. The Last time, some clown with a crowbar and a BMFH was trying to break down the door. I grabbed my shotgun and ran down to the door. My wife was screaming like crazy and the guy ran off, leaving his implements on our porch. Although it was after midnight, there were some people sitting in the garage across the street (they said they were getting their smoker set up for the church barbeque the next day).

The one good thing about all of this, is that we were not broken into after I appeared with the gun.

we left the neighborhood after my wife got preggers - wasn't where we could bring up a child - and we discovered another aspect of the life of crime. I always though that they would steal anything that wasn't nailed down, but they stole the vanity and toilet out of the batchroom (along with all of the appliances and the hot water heater) while we were waiting for the sale of the house to be completed. At least they turned off the water before doing that.

With all of that, I eventually ended up in Portland, where for the first time, my car was stolen. We got it back, but it made my new wife vary nervous.