The quiet little hamlet I first moved to decades ago has transformed greatly since.
Initially, it was this small little town that wasn’t too far away from the city but it felt like it.
There were people I would see everyday at the store. I knew the names of all the people at the HVAC company. Our butcher knew exactly how we liked our steaks. The whole thing was quite idyllic. Well, over the last 20 years, the city sprawl has arrived at our doorstep. And with it has come a serious increase in crime. I have had my car broken into twice. And all they wanted to take was the spare change in my ashtray. These were pretty desperate folks if they were willing to go to jail over 3 dollars worth of change. Well, I would be surprised far more by the depths some theives would go to. There was a thing on the news about thieves ripping apart HVAC condensers just to get their hands on the copper tubing inside. It sorta went in one ear and out the other. I shook my head and just wondered what next. Next was my HVAC condenser. I came home from work the other day to find my backyard strewn with pieces of my condenser cabinet and the guts of my condenser. This made me feel sick to my stomach. I felt a combination of disgust, anger and violation. The HVAC company came to the rescue. They got me a new condenser unit the next day. Only thing is, now I am trying to figure out how to lock it to the pad.