Burgled #2

In November of 1997, I had attended the Migrant Conference in Syracuse. That was the only year I didn't drive, riding with Valerie, another tutor, who had picked me up at my house, and drove me home on a Wednesday afternoon. My car had been parked in my driveway during my 3 days in Syracuse. The next morning, I drove to Salem where I spent most of the day tutoring at the school and then the home of a family I worked with. I drove home to my empty house---Dave was at work and Danny at St. Lawrence----to find we'd been burgled again, 10 years after the first burglary where 3 guys (And I think I knew who, but of course no one was ever charged) had kicked in the front door, and made off with our computer, TV, stereo with speakers, and some loose cash. Again the door had been kicked in, and this time havoc reigned. Pretty much everything of value had been stolen----electronics, a new shop vac, and this time a lot of cash that I had not yet deposited. The thieves had removed the pillowcases from our beds, and emptied the contents of the dresser drawers into the empty cases. My drawer had held a collection of my jewelry, some of it quite valuable, some of it nostalgic, including items that had belonged to my mother. The investigating trooper said it seemed professional, but how much brains does it take to do that, if you've watched even one crime show. Besides, the trooper told me they'd catch the thieves, and of course that didn't happen. Somewhere I have a list of all our missing property, all our valuables. I do recall feeling some resentment that the only thing left this time was our living room TV, too old and outdated for them to bother with. I know it was 10 years old because we'd had to replace it after the first burglary. All the rooms had been turned upside down. I remember the trooper asked me if things usually looked like that, and I felt insulted--of courde not! I also remember Rosemary coming up with Joe and her being in tears. At first that surprised me: I don't think the impact had registered yet. Investigation had proved fruitless, but I do believe I know who did it. Because of the time I'd been gone, the break-in had to have occurred between 11 and 3, when I got home. That day was garbage day, and pick-up was usually at noon. The garbage collector was new, perhaps this was only his second week: at the time pick-up was twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dave asked the driver next time, if he'd noticed anything, and he said no. To me, this is the evidence: there had been snow on the ground, and a set of tire tracks had led from our driveway area out across our adjoining lot onto the highway. Someone had driven out onto the road bypassing our driveway, which had been free of our cars--empty. So something must have been blocking the driveway---something like a large garbage truck. Serving as a barrier so no one could see a bunch of stuff being hauled out of our house on a busy road in broad daylight. Stuff like a oomputer, televisions, a shop vac, a large , and new, carpet shampooer, and bags full of our personal belongings. That new garbage hauler didn't stay on the job very long after that, as I recall, probably having made enough money to set himself up in business. And they say crime doesn't pay.