Nancy's Most Wanted (have you seen this man?)

It was a lovely Friday in May. Friday is normally my day off, but I decided that I would spend a bit of this one at the church, planting flowers. I didn’t bother to stop at my office, but parked out front and opened the hatch to my Honda Fit where I had everything I needed: potting soil, a few  flats of flowers, hand shovel and garden gloves. It was only three planters, so it wouldn’t take me long. First, I cleared away the winter pansies and worked a little soil into the earth. Then I planted half a dozen vincas in each one and poured a little water on them. No problem.

Before I was finished with the job, I had to get rid of the old plants. After putting them in a garbage bag, I walked around the side of the church to throw it in the dumpster. I was away from my car for 30 seconds, tops. And that’s all it took. When I returned, my was purse gone, along with the phone I had owned for less than two weeks. The police were no help. My stuff was gone. I had to suck it up and deal with it. So, I spent the rest of my day on the phone cancelling charge cards, at the bank figuring out how to get money, going to the DMV for my new driver’s license, which now has a very rough photo of me that I won’t even let my children see.  (No make-up, a rat’s nest on my head and a crabby look on my face -- Hey, I was doing yard work.)

As I worked my way through the unexpected hassles of the day, I was furious with myself. I should have known better. It would have been so easy for me to just place the purse and phone in my office when I arrived at the church. How could I have been so stupid? After spending all day kicking myself,  it’s a wonder I could sit down.

And then, there was the issue of the phone. Fortunately, I had bought into the insurance, and I had a new phone the next  morning. Yeah, I had to re-program everything on a phone that I was just learning how to use, but it could have been worse. The folks at Verizon were very helpful… after I went back the third time to get it connected.

It’s one of the new Windows smart phones, a Nokia 4G something or another, and it takes really good pictures. And that’s where the story gets interesting. Since they cancelled my phone, I’m assuming the person who stole it can’t use it as a phone, but, apparently, he can still use it as a camera. I know this because he saves the pictures he takes on the SkyDrive, so I can see them! (I suppose he can see mine, too. I wonder if he enjoyed my vacation.) At first I wondered, why are these random pictures of people I don't know appearing on my phone? Then, I realized that it was him -- my thief. 

Now, there’s something so wrong about this. When I was robbed, I took responsibility for my part in that. I kicked myself for my carelessness, but knew that I just had to let it go and move on. What was done was done and there was nothing I could do about it. I’ve been robbed in the past, and I know that’s the only way to deal with it. But when someone robs you, they’re supposed to disappear and you’re not supposed to see them again. You’re certainly not supposed to be watching them having a grand time with what they stole from you. It’s unconscionable. I’m not angry at myself anymore. Now, I'm angry with the thief. Not only did he steal what was mine, but he continues to rub my nose in it!

The church secretary saw the thief run from my car, so I know that it was an African-American man, and I have every reason to believe he is the star of his own picture show. (If the man pictured isn’t the original thief, he knows he’s using a stolen phone, so, yes, he’s still a thief.) Altogether, I have about 80 pictures on my phone that the thief has taken.

Here he is. Kinda cute… for a thief. This one was posted a few hours ago. 

And here’s his girlfriend. He didn’t do bad… for a thief.

This, apparently, is their little girl. Adorable. I wonder if she knows her daddy is a thief.

Can anyone tell me, is this person doing something illegal?

They have a Jordan jersey on the wall in their home. I wonder if he stole that, too.

Do you think this is directed at me? Sure feels that way.

Oh, I could go on, but you’ve probably had enough. The next time you see me, if you’d like to see more, I’d be glad to share them with you. I wonder how long he will continue to share his life with me. And I wonder how long I will look at them without becoming infuriated. If you see this person, would you please tell him to at least have the decency to stop posting his pictures on my SkyDrive? Stealing is one thing, but this is just
plain mean.