Rant: Some ass just stole my kids' bikes.

[reflection]

Last night they were in the shed, locked. Today they are either stolen or raptured. I have two very unhappy crying girls who now understand thievery. :mad:

This kind of stuff is only going to get worse as the economy suffers further, I suppose.

[Captain Hilts]

1. I hate shit like that. I'm really sorry/angry for you. And for your kids. nt

[reflection]

3. Thanks buddy. It is much appreciated. n/t

[phantom power]

2. Unhappily, I think you're right. Theft is going to increase.

[2Design]

4. go to local newspaper - get them to run a story and maybe some

good Samaritan will replace them and give them free publicity and your girls bikes - seems like when there is thievery this time of year people come to the rescue

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. Oh, man,

that's terrible. Your poor girls. What a shock, what a drag. And the day before Thanksgiving.

But the thought jumped right into my head: somewhere, two kids are getting bikes for Christmas.

Oh, man.......................

[WillieW]

6. I am angry for you. Sorry, this is a bummer for your girls.

who would know that the bikes where in the shed?

[hlthe2b]

7. I'm sorry for you... I had to take mine upstairs to my condo..

where it now bizarrely crowds out my entranceway like a college dorm... But despite three mega locks (including the NYC-approved 2 1/2 inch covered chain) I've missed having it stolen only because they were able to get to others around me in the semi-secured condo's community bike racks much easier. But, they tried and would have eventually succeeded.

I'm surprised, frankly, that there were not more gasoline thefts a few weeks back... I was going to put a locking gas cap on, but was warned they would just go below and puncture the tank, if they really wanted the gas.

[Sydnie]

8. Make sure to file a police report

and ask them if they still do engraving of articles like bikes. Our local police department used to assign a number and engrave that number on the bike so it could be tracked should the thief try to sell them or worse, dump them after they used them.


I can remember taking my bike for a ride, going home to use the facilities and when I came back out to get back on my bike, it had been stolen from my front yard, right from in front of my door. This was a relatively quiet suburban area and I was devastated too.

I hope you are in a position to be able to replace them for them. They did the right thing and made sure they were locked up and I would hate to think that they would have to suffer because of someone that thought they could violate them in this way.

[sarcasmo]

9. Check the nearest pawn shop.

[reflection]

11. Same thing a friend just told me. I think I will.

Thanks also to everyone for the nice words. It helps to bolster my faith in humanity.

(Side note: It could be worse. It could be this little girl):

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=9371900

This happened in my neighborhood as well. I chipped in a very nice amount to try to replace this little girl's wheelchair. That's got to be devastating for her.

[Incitatus]

15. You might want to check craigslist too

[Mollis]

28. Wow, people are real asses.

The person that stole your girl's bike, and whoever stole that wheelchair.
And the people that commented on the wheelchair story. That's just sad.

[thoughtanarchist]

10. For what it's worth...

The same thing happened to me when I was a kid.

My mom called the bike shop and luckily they had a record of the sale and gave her the serial number of the bike. A few weeks later we saw some kid riding around on what looked like my bike. We found out who he was and where he lived (don't ask) and one day, we walked onto his front porch, flipped the bike, verified the serial number...

and stole it back.


At that point, the kid's family got wind of what was going on and my mom, my bro and I led them on a slow-speed car chase through the city streets in my mom's old rattletrap, ending when we decided to park outside the front steps of the police station. I kept a much closer eye on my ride from that day on.

This is a memory that I will keep forever.

I love my mom.

:loveya:

[reflection]

26. Yep, that was well played. n/t

[Rebubula]

12. That sucks

However, my brother and I had our bikes stolen twice when we were kids. We lived in a upper-middle class neighborhood in Southern Indiana. The economy was good.

Sometimes people are just thieving assholes...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. File a police report immediately and then

go check pawn shops. Write a LTTE and also put up "MISSING" signs around the neighborhood. Could be someone saw them.

[Mari333]

14. That happened to my son back when he was little

I posted flyers all over town with a description of the bike and a reward. In no time flat the culprit was ratted out. and caught. it was worth it.

[shanti]

22. had it happen several times to me and mine

unfortunately, we aren't europe, where if you leave a bike out, it won't be stolen.

[Joe Chi Minh]

46. In the UK of course, it does. They even steal a wheel!

I wonder they even let us be honorary Europeans. There are no limits to the depths of the depravity in this country. Some months ago a woman who had fallen down and was dying in her doorway was urinated on by some young lout. Now that IS an ass. Well, worse, I suppose.

I wonder Brown and our other government officials dare to meet with their continental brethren. You'd think they'd die of shame. Not a chance. I saw ex-PM, Major, the Carlyle Group's European chief at the Cenotaph Armistice ceremony, beaming at the camera.

[shanti]

48. ok, maybe not the UK, lol

sounds as bad as the US! i was referring to mainland europe - netherlands, france, spain, italy, etc.

[InvisibleTouch]

16. That really sucks.

I feel bad for your girls. Breaking into a locked shed is a whole different category of vile than even grabbing an unlocked bike off the sidewalk. The latter in itself is bad enough, but the owner in that case might kick themselves and say they should have secured their property. In your case, you did everything right and someone still messed you over. I can't help, but I can sympathize. And hope that karma bites the thief in the ass.

[Stinky The Clown]

17. I understand being angry. But maybe try this .......

.... depending on how old the girls are.

Tell them the bikes were stolen. And then explain how, at this time of year, desperate people who have little are trying to make Christmas a little better for their own kids by ..... well ..... stealing a bike to give to their kids. Explain how it is always wrong to do so, but how our world has many people with less than you. How we all need to pull together.

The above was just a (perhaps lame) quick suggestion. The point is to use the event as a way to teach and to show that maybe such things might have reasons apart from they might seem. You know your own kids and surely know best what lesson you feel like teaching them.

And for what its worth, anger is okay, too. But I know that I always tried to teach my kids to direct the anger appropriately. That is a hard lesson and I was not fully successful (and I dare say no one else is either).

[reflection]

19. Yes, I approached it quite similar to what you suggested.

If only to make them feel somewhat better about the loss. Virtually every "bad" moment can be used as a teaching moment. They might as well learn something, instead of dwelling on the sadness.

[woo me with science]

27. Sorry, I find this response insulting to honest poor people.

There is NO good reason to steal a little kid's bike in this country. If you are poor, you raise your kids with the morality you want them to have. You teach them about materialism and what is really important rather than shiny and expensive things. You teach them how to have a nice Christmas without a stolen bike, or you approach a church to get your kids on a charity list, if you are that poor. You sew your own dolls for them, or you build a fucking treehouse or fort, and you eat your Christmas dinner in the fort singing Christmas carols. You MAKE presents instead of buying them. You go to the soup kitchen and volunteer to feed people who are hungrier than you are. You DON'T teach them that stealing a little kid's bike is okay because you are poor.

[Stinky The Clown]

40. Oh please .... can your fuax fucking outrage

You know what I fucking meant ...... no one is saying stealing is okay. But you choose to tell us all how moral you are.

Bite me.

[woo me with science]

44. You convinced me, man.

Being moral is really lame!

:thumbsup: :yourock:

[Stinky The Clown]

45. No ........

..... being moral is fine.

Being stupid is lame.

But the point, which you seem not to get, was your faux outrage at your created strawman.

No one said stealing is good.

[lindbergh]

33. Cool. I'll ask my kids to steal me a Corvette for xmas.

;-)
(See, I'm desperate too)

[Stinky The Clown]

41. Ha

ha

[Ian David]

18. Put up signs that say , "Please Return Radioactive Bicycles to Police HAZMAT Department." n/t

[FredMertz]

20. That's awful..

This probably won't make your girls any less sad but will homeowners insurance cover the loss? I'm only asking because sometimes people forget they have coverage for stuff like this.

[reflection]

21. I'll check it out but

I'm sure the deductible would greatly outweigh the cost of two bikes. Thanks for the idea though. I'll be going on the pawn shop world tour tonight before I do anything else.

[wartrace]

23. Get one of these locks after you replace the bikes.

I am so sorry for your little girls. It is very sad someone would do that to them.

[blueknight]

24. my son had his stolen many years ago

i was driving up the street and some kid was just opening his garage door and i seen it in there. i pulled over and ran up to the house and his dad came out. i told him what was up. he kicked the shit out of the kid right on the spot. the kid actually turned out to be a very respectable young man

[Critters2]

25. EVery few weeks we find a bike in the church dumpster.

The police say people steal them for one ride, them dump them. That just pisses me off. We always call the cops when we see one, and I sincerely hope the cops return them to the victims. So, please report this, in case the bikes do turn up. They might. And the cops need the reports for their stats. They'll put their energy toward the most common crimes. They'll only know how many bikes are stolen if people report them.

And when you've done that, give your girls a hug. :hug:

[lurky]

29. All categories of crime spike in hard economic times.

Here's a chart of annual murder rates since 1900. Notice how it spikes in 1933 (height of the depression), 1974 (Nixon recession), 1980 (Carter/Reagan recession), and 1991 (Bush 1 recession).



It's coming, so we have to be prepared for it.

[KurtNYC]

37. This time it started with a spike in White Collar crime

They are ripping us all off.

Isn't it interesting that the MSM does not even track White Collar crime rates?

[lurky]

39. Haha! True that.

:hi:

[Greyhound]

30. Damn, that really sucks. n/t

[bdamomma]

31. that is terrible.

I feel sorry for your girls.

[flvegan]

32. I'm sorry for your kids (and you).

May or may not just be the economy. There will always be shitty scumbag thieves that steal quite obviously from children. What kind of person must you be to steal from a child? Seriously.

[Swede]

34. My nephew was having a rough time,then someone stole his bike.

It was his only transportation at the time,just added to his hardship.

[dropkickpa]

35. That stinks

Someone stole Dropkids piece of crap bike this summer (it was on it's last legs, but I was hoping to eke out the rest of the summer with it before I had to buy the next size up).

[jpljr77]

36. I'm still not over my bike's theft in 1986

That bike was super-sweet and I had it for only 6 weeks. And the replacement bike was totally lame, and I had to keep it for three years. Bastards.

[greguganus]

38. Probably a couple of Mormons. Check the local temple. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

42. Sorry your daughter's bikes were stolen. Theft of personal property feels like such a violation.

[SoCalDem]

43. Ahh, the memories flooded back..

With three boys within 5 years of each other, we bought many bicicles for THIEVES..:grr:..

One time, TWO bikes were stolen from our front porch IN BROAD DAYLIGHT..while they were inside eating lunch..

I think we finally just quit buying bikes, and they had to hoof-it:)

[ileus]

47. hope they weren't treks or specialized.

Man that blows hard. My kids want new bikes but I told them to wait until spring when I can pick up '08 overstock bikes from the bikeshop.