Respect...

This week our Acura was stolen from our driveway. Talk about a shock! Living in the northwest, it's still pretty cold up here and this past Tuesday, it was 29 degrees outside at 7:00 AM. The windows on the car were iced over and I went out and did what I've been doing all winter long, which was to start the car up and let it warm up for 5 minutes before my wife uses it to go to work.

We live in a quite neighborhood and I never imagined that this type of thing would happen. For me, I would never ever think of walking up and taking somebody's car for ANY reason. It's clear that mankind doesn't all have the same attitude.

In our particular case, I assume the car was stolen by somebody from what I'll refer to as the younger generation. I believe this because of the skateboard that was left by the side of our driveway, at the end of the footprints that were left in the frosted over grass on our sidelawn. Last time I checked, people my age, don't typically use a skateboard to get around. Well not when you can use a nice Acura instead.

On a positive note, the local police did recover our car a few hours later about 15 miles from our house. Fortunately the only damage was to he front tires. It looked like the driver had run the car up onto a curb and one of the tires exploded, the other had a very large bubble on the side. I didn't see the car at the scene but saw the tires when the car was towed to the house. In some respects I feel fortunate because the damage could have been a lot worse. The thief did not vandalize the car. Thank goodness!

After a trip to Sears to have new tires put on, getting them aligned and balanced, and spending an hour washing the car, it was like this was all just a bad dream. A bad dream with a good ending. For that I am thankful.

On the flip side I can't help but wonder, what goes through peoples minds when they make a decision to perform and act like this? I make a point of conducting my life in a respectful manner and it really hurts when these types of events occur in my life.

This is not the first time where our personal privacy has been invaded. One week after purchasing this Acura in 2003, we walked up to our car in the parking lot of our fitness club, only to find the driver side window had been smashed in. Again, other than the shattered window, no other vandalism had occurred. Another time my Honda was parked on the street in front of my house and a rear passenger window had been smashed in and my stereo was ripped out of the dashboard.

It's sad to think that there are so many predators out and about. People up to no good. I used to think it was a sign of the times, but I suppose this type of activity has been going on for centuries. I'm thinking for example of the kings that used to send their warriors out to take land from 'peasants'. Or foreign explorers taking land from the original occupants of this country. It's yours until I take it from you! Not a creed I live by.

This world could be a much better place if we would all just show some respect and demonstrate compassion for each other. Equally! The thought 'Do unto others...' comes to mind. Think before you act. Take a moment and consider how you would feel if somebody does to you, or your mother, or father, or daughter, or son, what you are about to do to somebody else. It might make a difference in your actions. Ponder that... and you may see some positive change in yourself.