OK I was at home washig some clothes when my wife informs me that the dryer is broken and the repair man wont be around for two days. “no problem” I think, ill just take them to the laundrymat. while at the laundry, I (foolishly) decide to take a walk as opposed to sitting and listening to the mexican couple with 12 kids argue over something involing a rooster (my spanish is a little rusty). I put enough money in the dryer to last for 30min. and take off. I came back in 20min to find my dryer open and half my clothes missing. Yes yes yes, I know that sounds extreamly stupid and probably is but I live in a very small southern town where things like this usualy dont happen, and I truly didnt see it hapining NOW with everyone “sticking together”.
I guess the low lifes and the theives got back to “normalcy” a little faster than me.
I’ll say. I had been scheduled to sell my handmade jewelry at a festival on a local college campus this past Saturday. I wasn’t really in the mood to go, but in the spirit of getting back into normal routines, I did so anyway. Part of what made it seem worthwhile was that I decided two things:
(1) to make up a bunch of red-white-and-blue lapel pins and bracelets to sell, since RWB items seem to be in high demand and short supply, and
(2) to donate all of the day’s proceeds to the Red Cross. I made up several large signs stating this, to hang in my booth. It was the only way I felt comfortable trying to sell jewelry, of all silly things, at a time like this.
Well, it was a nice day, and a friend of mine was selling her homemade soaps and jewelry in the space next to me, so we were having a good time talking and meeting people. In mid-morning, two goofy girls came by first her booth and then mine. They were very talkative, telling us how they were “all into the 60’s, man.” (Whatever. Can you name any of the presidents from that decade? I didn’t think so. Run along, now.) And they did. They were at each of our booths for about a minute each.
A short time later, one of the police officers who had been walking around came up to me, said, “Was any of this stolen from you?” and proceeded to dump out four items from my booth, totaling about $40, along with several other small items, onto my work table. :eek: And no, I had not sold those pieces to anyone.
The three items that were on cards were crumpled up as if they had been shoved into a pocket. The fourth item, a bracelet, had been unpinned from one of my new bracelet pads. The security pins were hard to shove in and take out, too, and I had been watching these girls as they looked, but apparently not closely enough. They had taken items from my friend, as well as from several other booths. They got busted when a vendor saw one girl stuff something under her shirt and alerted the nearby cop.
The officer (I noted the black band across his badge, BTW) took my name and information, and returned my merchandise after having it all photographed as evidence. (They got about $40 of stuff from another vendor, so I imagine their take was a few hundred.) He said they would be charged with retail theft. I hope their parents (they looked high-schoiol age) will give them a good kick in the pants, but I don’t have high hopes for that.
:mad: I’m not one to create the typical vitriol usually involved in Pit rants (which I admire from the rest of you, by the way), but rest assured I felt it on Saturday.
:mad: Thanks for stealing from the Red Cross for kicks, bitches. I had huge day-glo signs all over my booth saying I was donating my till to charity, and you thought you’d steal a few baubles for fun. Very nice. Never mind that the country is in mourning, because it’s all about you, right?
:mad: I spent the rest of the day feeling like I had to assume that everyone who came into my booth was a potential thief, and hating that I felt that way. After all, it was the first time I’ve been ripped off in three years of doing these festival gigs.
:mad: And in an unrelated rant, thanks a lot to all the people who told me how nice it was that I was donating, and then didn’t buy anything. Maybe you don’t like my regular jewelry items. Fine. But I had some very nice patriotic-colored lapel pins ($5), and bracelets suitable for little kids ($1), things I made up special, hoping to pad my donation in addition to my usual couple hundred bucks that I usually make in a day. I think my total for the day was about $83 – I had to round my donation up to $100 out of my own pocket, which is not very deep at the moment. Now I have a rack with about $200 worth of pins and a basket with about $35 worth of bracelets, and nowhere to sell them. I hope I can persuade a friend who has a retail store to put them out and send the proceeds to the Red Cross.
<Non-Pit Commentary Here>
And thanks to the Red Cross director who came into my booth and thanked me for my efforts. It’s nice to be appreciated. I only wish I had more to send.
Well, you did what you can, sweetheart. hugs Bless your heart.
Terrorists crashed planes = people stop being assholes? they musta taught that one of the days i skipped class.
Actually, there seems to be some small correlation between big events and crime.
My sympathies to you Scarlett. It’s a shame they’re probably underage, so the newspaper won’t be able to publish their names. A little public humiliation might be good for them.