Duane, that's just awful. What a mean-spirited thing to do. One year someone cut down a small blue spruce on my mother's front lawn. So, they got to look at it for a few weeks instead of everyone who drove by getting to look at it for years. Another time someone stole two antique planters (big heavy things!) from her front entry.

I agree, how can someone sit back and enjoy it knowing it was stolen? Of course, there are those who would find extra pleasure in the fact that they ripped off someone else. Creeps. I hope they get coal in their stoking this year.

I'm really sorry. Things like that are so infuriating.

Drive around the neighborhood and see if you see one.....

Linda, I live on a one block dead end road. The darn thing was only visible from the dead end side of my street...which means somebody who lives down there or drives that way and/or back could see it. The paperperson and the garbage men were on the block this morning. I can't see a city worker stealing it...that would be a big risk to lose your job over something like that...and the paper delivery person? Could be....but I doubt it. Random idiocy is my opinion.

I'm sorry Duane, what a drag.

Our neighbor has elaborate light decorations up and he told me one year one of his lighted deer was stolen. I think it's teenage boys - the same type that leave an occasional beer bottle in a rose bush or set off an illegal loud firecracker in the middle of the night. Kids with too much time on their hands.

That does stink! I'm with about the principle of the issue.

To give as all another perspective--My 92-year-old widowed neighbor lives in a large house on 10 acres. The house looks abandoned because she uses candles (scary since she is a hoarder) to save on electricity. Someone ripped out her AC/Heat unit and took all the copper tubing. We took her some fire wood because I afraid with these low temps she would freeze. Last year she was pacing back and forth in of her house near the street. I stopped to see if she was okay. She said someone stole her mail box and she was waiting for the mailman to deliver the weekly flyer because....she needed to find a job!!!!

I have a magnet on my car that says Happy Holidays. I'm just waiting for someone to snatch it. This is the 3rd year in a row I've used it. So far - so good.

Cathy, your neighbor! Yikes!

Sorry Duane~

In Venice, my next door neighbor saw a teenage surfer go into my back yard and steal three or four mangoes from my tree. As the boy was leaving my yard, my neighbor asked him what he was doing in my yard, and the boy told him that he knew me and that I had said it was okay. Then Val asked him, "What's his name?" and the boy ran off. After that, I started locking my back gate. I've had yard workers steal sculpture from my back yard, and so I'm careful about letting anyone work in my yards. They would frequently steal oranges as well, but I had plenty of those anyway.

When we first moved there, Bernard had a huge pot of cimbidiums that he put outside beside the front door on a pedestal. When it bloomed, we got 14 large spikes at once, and while the flowers were not the showiest (they were green, like the foliage), they were impressive because of the size and quantity. After it had been there a couple of years, someone stole it, and Bernard said he regretted not dividing it up. Bernard had about 80 orchids growing outside at that time, and so we hardly noticed that one pot was gone. I had more problems with pranksters in Culver City than I did in Venice, and I'm in an extremely quiet neighborhood now. One night we forgot and left the garage door open all night, but nothing was taken, and we had mountain bikes in clear view.

Do you have a neighborhood watch where you live?

Lars

That is just such a downer anytime, but this time of the year. Look at it this way , now way the person who took it is a good place karma wise. Miserable as hell I hope!

This Fall we had a skidoo cover stolen right off one of our snow machines. No biggie except it absolutely had to be a neighbour. No one else would have even know where the machines were, it's way off road. They knew exactly what they were after. Only took the one cover. Left the other which was for a Yamaha, not a Skidoo, and things much more valuable than the cover were not touched.

The fact it was a neighbour or someone familiar with our property was what upset me most.

duane, that sucks. My house got broken into several years ago by one of the teenaged criminals, but since all the other teenagers knew me, they all tattled promptly. Since he also broke into several area businesses he went to a juvenile home, he was only 14, sheesh.

Still, it stinks, no matter who or what the age. If you find the person, I'd sic the dogs on him!

Cathy, doesn't your neighbor have insurance to pay for the HVAC unit? There shouldn't be a deductible if it's vandalism or theft. If not, I think I'd be contacting one of the local senior citizens groups for assistance for her...

Annie

I used to have pots and a small statue in my front yard, but after a little flower pot I had just put out with a geranium and curry plant disappeared from my porch, I moved everything else to my back yard. It saddens me that we can't decorate our front yards any more. I'm just glad they didn't take my mother's old lion statue. The flower pot I had just planted a few days earlier, it was small and not expensive. The statue is invaluable, so I'm happy they didn't take that.

Duane, I'm really sorry that happened to you. Unless you live in a gated community, people can drive around the streets looking for stuff to take. There are scavengers that drive around before trash days looking for stuff to scavenge off the curbs, but I doubt one of them would take your decorations, as they're willing to work for their stuff, meager as it may be. What a shame that someone would do that.

Sally

Just read the police report in the local paper. A grapevine reindeer with lights was stolen off someone's lawn. Looks like the Grinch lives here, too.

RFID is looking better and better everyday.

Our contractor's hobby is blasting off rockets in the desert. They use some sort of tracking device to find them after they come down. Some yahoo picked up one, brought it home. When our contractor knocked on the door, he denied he had it. It was explained to him that a secondary way they locate their rockets is to detonate a built in explosive which pretty much destroys anything around it.

That rocket suddenly showed up.

Great story, Jessy.

Yes, Chase.... I am a big believer in karma as well. When you are unkind to someone it comes back... exponentially, I hope.

At our old house on a cul-de-sac, our neighbor had a fabulous Christmas display and someone was always coming in the middle of the night and placing reindeer and statues into compromising poses. It was funny, but infuriated my neighbor. As it turns out, it was his own grown children who lived a few miles away.

AM

Duane, I'm sorry this happened to you. Just when we really get in the holiday spirit some grinch comes along and snatches it away from us!

I doubt you find it because if you just watch the news on TV and read the papers you see that people steal every thing in the world just to sell for a few dollars to keep up their drug habits. I know better than to put the first thing on my front patio and that is so very sad.

I truly believe in Karma or as we grew up calling it "What goes around comes around" which in essence is probably the midwestern down home way of saying the same thing. Funny thing I was walking dogs in a very nice neighborhood a few miles away...they did the whole modern victorian deal with the front porches and the mini main street thing etc. Well of course to live there both wage earners are most likely at work during the day. The place kind of reminds me of the movie Pleasantville because although every house is occupied I never hardly see anyone home or sitting on the porch..kind creepy sometimes. Anyway, most of the homes are docorated lavishly for all holidays and I seen a lot of those lighted reindeer displays and boxes from Fedex and other delivery companies sitting unattended on porches and wondered how in the world somebody doesn't drive up and down this neighborhood and make a killing stealing all this stuff. Then the next week my modest little dog is swiped! Funny how the mind connects things sometimes.

Anyway, the same day we went out to buy another one (tempting fate for sure) and they were sold out. Sigh...another week and Christmas will be over for this year. Not going to let anyone steal my holiday 'spirit'...uh uh...ain't gonna happen!

Duane

Good for you Duane, don't let that Grinch make you wear the bah humbug hat.

Merry Christmas!