A Thief at Dawn

I awoke early this morning; my blood sugar was too high and it always leads to excessive thirst. Of course, drinking so much water leads to something else, so I had a restless night.

Looking bleary-eyed at the clock (4:01 a.m.!!!)and remembering that the Beej was outside, I stumbled my way to the front door where I found him waiting on me. He was vocal in his having had been left out for most of the night, but I ignored him, went to the bathroom, took a healthy drink of water and tried to go back to sleep.

It wasn't five minutes after lying down that I heard and felt a heavy thump from the front porch. After taking my air conditioner down a few months ago, I just left it there. It's extremely heavy and I nearly threw my back out taking it down. If not moved with caution, the fins on the back can slice multiple cuts on the mover's hands and wrists.

Then came the sound of metal on metal, and I jumped up. Another larger, louder thump came immediately after and as I jerked open the door, I saw a guy slam the door on what looked like a small Ford Bronco, black or dark green, with the tailgate and door open as it sped off down the street. ( the back open and ready for my AC, I deduced. He had dropped the a/c when he heard me rushing to the door)

Even though the only thing I had on my feet was a pair of brand-new white socks, I started to give chase. I couldn't read the license, but as I stopped running and stood there, I saw the vehicle go down the street for a few blocks, then turn into a driveway.

I went back inside, grabbed my keys and drove down the block, slowing down by the house. The guy was standing by the truck, then when I drove on and turned around at the next block, he moved onto the porch. The sun wasn't up yet, but the glow from the east and the dim streetlights gave me a decent look at him. Returning my stare as I drove back by, he stood there defiantly, but when I slowed to stop, he popped into the house. I wished I had brought a pistol, then immediately was glad I didn't. I wasn't all that angry, not then...I just felt violated and scared. The time to have shot him was when he had my a/c in his hands.

He could be anyone, but I'm bettin' he's a crackhead (seriously, what sort of semi-smart thief would steal from a house w/ the lights and TV on? Stealing a refrigerated air conditioner in winter?) and I'll have to be extra vigilant and careful. In a way, I'm hopin' he'll try again and I'll be a little more ready for him. I don't really want to shoot him for trying to steal my air conditioner; I can have sympathy for someone who has let drugs rule his life and, that life, even though it's a pathetic one, is worth more than a two hundred dollar cooling unit.

No, I want to shoot him because he caused me to ruin a brand-new pair of white socks.