City Life

I'm so confused today.

Sad and Angry and Confused.

I walked out to my car this morning, the car I depend on every day to drive me reliably 150 miles or more.

All the wheels were gone and there was a concrete block stuffed under it.

My first reliable car.

The first car I never worried about starting, never worried about mechanical problems, always trusted it to run without fail.

Someone ruined it.

Or more than someone. Probably a few people. This has been happening for many many months around here. Always to other people, never to us.

Kyle and I have lived here for a year. In that time we've seen probably 4 or 5 cars on blocks.

Today it was me.

I've been working so hard at my new job. I never think about my car now. It is so reliable, so predictable.

I have my morning coffee in it. Eat my lunch in it. Make phone calls to family, friends, accounts. Take orders, power up my laptop, fill out paperwork. This car I had to dig out from many feet of snow this winter. This car goes to the cabin. Visits our parents. Carries gifts, fishing equipment, family members.

But when I saw someone had vandalized it. Took what wasn't theirs. It felt weird. I know it's silly. I got angry, really mad, but mostly I got sad.

This isn't just a car.

It's the first big purchase Kyle and I made as a married couple.
The first thing we've owned together.
And today somebody threw a block under it, tore off the tires, let the front end crash to the ground causing more damage, and took off with a few thousand dollars worth of tires.

Kyle reminded me of what his Grandfather says....it's just stuff. Stuff can be replaced.

We have insurance, it'll be ok. An inconvenience, but it will be ok. It's just stuff and things.

The people who work at the apartment complex tell me that crime happens any and everywhere. It's not their fault. They can't do anything. 4 cars (people)...5 cars (people)...it's just something that happens. This is Minneapolis. This happens everywhere.

City life....

Maybe it's time for a change.