A Bitter Lesson in the Depths of Winter

This can be a tough time of year for some in the Bold North. It’s cold, we’ve now shoveled deep snow, and we’re still short on daylight.

Add to that a government whose main talent is finger pointing, rampant sexual abuse suddenly exposed everywhere, immigrants with no country to call home, another school shooting, and – in keeping with tradition – another missed Super Bowl for the Vikings.

We ponder, complain, and obsess about these and many other things. People practically carry lists to remind them what to grouse about. If your roots are Norwegian Lutheran, you can add a large serving of guilt to that for not doing more to help fix things.

My list now has one more item on it – burglary. Like being in a car accident or getting struck by lightning, you know it happens to others, but never you.

It appears that sometime during the night of the last Vikings game, while everyone was home glued to their TVs (at least until half-time), my in-laws’ summer place at Wacouta was broken into. Gone are mowers, tools, ATVs, minibikes, even a golf cart. The place is nearly 100 years old and this is the first significant burglary.

My locked storage shed side door was busted open and my two ATVs were taken, along with helmets, tie-downs, and some other things. Tracks in the snow, viewed before disappearing in last week’s snowstorm, indicated that vehicles with very large tires hauled everything away. My two ATV trailers, stored outside, probably made it obvious what was inside the shed. Well, that will no longer be a problem since the trailers are gone, too, no doubt used to haul it all away.

This was a bold, well-planned operation. A half-circle piece of plastic imprinted with “Ignition” confirmed that they did not need keys for the ATVs. A hitch padlock, destroyed by bolt cutters and frozen in the ice, seemed to say that resistance is futile.

The old garage is a lot emptier now. The large zero-turn lawn mower was taken, along with a push mower, a golf cart, two minibikes, a pressure washer, tree trimmer, and an antique outboard motor. Many tools are missing as well. Whatever would fit on the trailers and in truck beds, I suppose.

They went through the house, leaving nearly every cabinet door and dresser drawer open. But there wasn’t much worth taking there. Just some old silverware that no one liked anyhow. The rest was mostly summer clothes and they were untouched. They left the five dead mice caught in traps.

This was quite a shock to the family, of course. I found myself just staring out the window at the falling snow that first day. Shouldn’t we have seen this coming and better prepared for it? It’s a kick to the gut because there is basically nothing you can do but file a report with the sheriff. Vehicle ID numbers are now on a national list, mixed in with millions of others. Insurance coverage is being figured out.

Now, many days later and after trying to analyze it a hundred ways, I have begun to realize there are some humorous aspects to it. They took really heavy, identifiable things. My ATVs were not purchased new and have some years on them. Same with the trailers. Yes, they have value and I will definitely take a loss. But even the large lawn mower was up for replacement sometime in the near future.

They took a garden cart loaded with things we take to the beach such as lawn chairs and cooler cups. I guess they didn’t want the swim floats, which were neatly placed along a wall. They left three decent bicycles and a garbage can full of life jackets.

What are they going to do with the stolen items? Sell them on Craig’s List? Chop them up for parts? Or will they be discovered untouched in a remote pole shed years from now? Best guess is that they will be sold quickly for whatever they can get to support a drug habit. And then they will do it again somewhere else. 

The issue for us now is to decide how to prevent this from happening again. Security alarms, cameras, and motion sensor lights all come to mind. But will any of them stop a determined thief? Despite best efforts, it can happen again and next time there might be more damage done.

It feels like we have been violated by a part of society we only read about. Things will be different now but I hope I don’t become consumed by it. The stolen items are just material things that can be replaced. No one got assaulted. Property damage was minimal.

We need to remember that so many others in the world, even in our own neighborhoods, endure much worse and on a regular basis. It will warm up, the snow will melt, and summer will reappear when I can relax in my hammock, which was not stolen.

And the Vikings will try again.