By Angus Frame
Someone broke into my garage, smashed the window of my roommate’s car, rifled through his glove compartment and left. Nothing was stolen because there was nothing in the car worth taking. Pieces of glass still lie on the garage floor. The insurance is covering the damage and we’ve pretty much shrugged the whole thing off as no big deal.
Someone stole my Mastercard last month. I forgot to lock my stuff up while I showered at the RAC. So while I was cleaning off my body some thief was cleaning out my wallet. More than $600 was charged to the card from a store on Yonge St. called Babylon before I discovered the theft. Mastercard is covering the costs so I’ve pretty much shrugged the whole thing off as no big deal.
Someone came to my Christmas party and stole my gumball machine. It was one of those imitation antique machines you can buy at The Den for Men or Consumers Distributing. My little brother bought it for me five years ago as a Christmas gift. It wasn’t worth much and I don’t really miss it so I’ve shrugged the whole thing off as no big deal.
My roommate called the police about his broken window. They took his statement over the phone. They weren’t interested in catching the thief and couldn’t even bother sending an officer to our house. Mastercard wasn’t interested in finding out who stole my card either. They told me not to worry. They told me the illicit Babylon purchase was covered. And they told me that they’d never catch the thief. Both incidents were shrugged off as no big deal.
So I’ve become a little bit jaded. There is always a combination lock on my locker at the RAC. My roommate installed a new lock on the garage door. I’m never going to find my gumball machine. And I guess life goes on. I’m not paranoid, but my home is locked at all times, even during the day when I’m home. I don’t walk down alleys at night and I don’t take my usual shortcut through Allen Gardens if the sun is down. I have had to change my habits because of the criminal element in this city. The cheats, liars and thieves chalk up a few more points and the good guys get screwed. It’s not right. When people get robbed it is a big deal. A very big deal.
Some of my freedom’s been taken and some of my faith shattered. A few days ago a female friend told me that she’d gone for a walk alone at night. I told her that she should know better. She should know better than to enjoy a winter night, know better than to get a breath of fresh air, know better tan to live her life the way she wants to. So what if she can only walk during the day? I mean, really, that’s no big deal, is it?
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