The Friday before last, Claude and I awoke to a different sensation besides coffee. We were victims of crime (not a very pleasant feeling, I may add).
Never did I dream I would have an opportunity to write my very own police report. After all, robbery is just something I read about and like to keep thinking only happens in towns, not in the country.
TIMELINE – Thursday night – myself, Jerry and Marilyn Zastrow, Susie, Georgia and Terry drove out to Dave and Connie Hljem’s farm for a visit and an evening of bird watching. (Claude was hauling bales.) We then ventured to Twin Lakes to enjoy barbecue night and returned home. Claude and I had a really late night and finally called it quits at 9:30.
FRIDAY – 5 a.m. – Claude yells upstairs, “I can’t find my money clip, I think we were robbed!” I immediately lapse into a doze believing totally in his ability to misplace items. He got my full attention when he yelled – “Your purse is gone!”
Claude related he knew things were amiss when he discovered the dining room light on and our sliding glass door in the kitchen ajar. I was in a state of disbelief. The loss of driver’s license, insurance cards and credit cards starts sinking in and I started making concellation calls, while Claude calls the sheriff and looks for any clues.
Thankfully, I had minimal cash and Claude’s money clip only had about a hundred dollars. Despite the loss, I had two things to be thankful for. I had just taken a considerable amount of cash out of my purse ‘cuz I had planned to go to Sioux Falls on Friday. Before I retired on Thursday night, I decided I shouldn’t take all that in my purse to work, so I stashed it elsewhere. The thieves failed to discover it under the junk. Second, coincidence was that Claude was complaining about my reading light in his eyes and a hair’s breath kept me from stomping downstairs and sleeping on the couch for the night.
Yet, a part of me wishes I had been there on the couch. I don’t know who would have been more surprised – me when the light turned on or them when I jumped off the coach – naked (hot flashes, you know). Jerry Zastrow surmised that they would have been just like the cartoon characters that run through a wall and all that is left is their shape. I would have liked that – a lot. Do I feel violated? No. Angry? Yes… that people are too lazy to work and think it’s easier to steal to make a living.
Dee Baby