Violation

Amy called yesterday afternoon, and it didn't take long to figure out it was one of those calls parents hate to get. She was very upset, on the verge of tears - her purse had just been recovered in the restroom at work - without the wallet of course. Matt, her boss, fished it out of the toilet.

Amy, Jenna, Rachelle - 3 of the 4 Amigos

She was flying out for a long-awaited trip to Los Vegas (Vegas Baby!) with her college roommates - Jenna, Allie and Rachelle at 7:20 PM. What a crappy thing to happen, and what bad timing! She had her winnings from last week's Once Upon a Race in there - $100. She partnered with Allie (who just moved to Denver) and another friend to solve clues and dash between Denver bars, dressed as their fave fairytale characters. Amy was Ursula from Disney's Little Mermaid. Their team won the whole thing - beating some 700 others. That's my girl - way to know your way around bars!

Her wallet contained a few more funds too but it was lucky she hadn't yet gotten more $ for the trip. Credit/debit cards, insurance card, driver's license, library card and other assorted important stuff were in there too.

I felt helpless as she then did begin to cry as the reality of the situation sunk in. I tried to remain calm - and to keep her calm. She realized she had her passport at home, so she would still be able to fly with that ID. She would leave immediately to report the theft to her bank and get vacation money - as she wouldn't have plastic for her purchases. She's staying until Monday a.m. I advised her to cancel anything she could immediately and contact the police.

Amy works as a graphic designer at a meat packaging facility called Custom Made Meals. She designs labels and all the marketing materials for the reps who sell the products to supermarkets around the country. Super Target (Archer's Farm brand) and Krogers are two companies of their customers. There are only a few people in the CMM office, and several hundred on the production floor. I wondered how someone had waltzed into her office and stolen her purse so easily. It's such a violation!

Amy later called me from the airport to report that Matt had had reviewed security (lack of?) film. The evil girl/woman was not an employee, but had come in with people stopping at the office to pick up paychecks. She went by the reception desk and up the stairs to Amy's office, evidently quickly finding her purse. Amy was out on the production floor at the time. She snuck into the restroom across the hall, ditched the purse in the potty (why'd ya gotta do that?) and took the good stuff. Amy's migraine meds are wet. Hope she stays headache free until she can get replacements!

By the time the banks checked, the stealer had racked up $700 in charges on Amy's cards. I hope they can nail this bitch! The cops were there when Amy stopped back at work after her bank visit.  I'm not sure if she charged purchases online or in person. They said the chick would be charged with identity theft as well as stealing, since she used the credit cards - but first they must catch her!

Amy sounded much better from the airport. She will call today with a few things to take care of - like paying her cell phone bill, since her credit card is cancelled. And her library card, cuz that chick is probably planning to head to the library today to check out a bunch of stuff. Yeah! I actually emailed Amy a list of things to to when your wallet is stolen. She'll have to deal with the driver's license next week. Yuck.

Our family has been so fortunate. We've not been touched much by crime. I've had my credit card cancelled because others were trying to access it. But I was home and it wasn't much of an inconvenience. I left my purse someplace and had my cash taken - not a lot of $. Jud's TV was stolen from his apartment his sophomore year of college - those flatscreens are easy to walk off with. We suspected an inside job from the one loser roommate's friends. But heck, we used to leave our house door open - never locking it, until the past couple years.

Generally we're very surprised when others take our stuff. It's not the way things are supposed to work. My baby learned the hard way that there are some bad people that think otherwise - that our hard work is theirs for the taking. It makes me sad when my baby is upset. Coulda been worse I guess - our niece in NYC was robbed at gunpoint! 

I hope Vegas and Amy's buddies help take the sting of this violation away. And this lesson is another of life's tough ones - there are bad people. Amy did a good job reacting to and dealing with the situation. I'm glad to support my children, but am proud that they are equipped to handle life on their own!