Let there be Love

Valentine’s day is supposed to be a day of love, of Hallmark profits, of florist glory. I’m not feeling the love today for two reasons: our friend Cheeseball Neighbor--who happens to be our next-door neighbor--was robbed last night and because of this afternoon’s campus shootings at Northern Illinois University.

Sometimes the Addiverse is not a place of unending wit or joy. Today is one of those days.

First, the shooting: I am an alumna of NIU and have attended classes in the building where the shooting took place. Our dear friend, Master Reiki, is a professor at NIU. The wife is a professor on a college campus. This makes the shooting much closer to home than I would like.

It appears the university did an awesome job during the emergency and for that, I am very proud of my alma mater. The wife and I were rather amazed at the security afforded to the clients, from loudspeakers in the dorms to immediate Internet bulletins.

Of course, none of this prevents this strange new hateful shooting spree happening on way too many campuses.

The event leads to discussion with the wife about her safety on a college campus. She is unaware of any safety protocol related to an incident like this. This does not make me happy. I’m sure we will have many more conversations about not only the shooting but also the seeming lack of plan at the wife’s college.

I am very happy to report that Professor Master Reiki is fine and arrived safely at home. I have to tell you, my heart sank when I heard about the shooting, with Master Reiki being my absolute first thought. My heart now sinks for the persons involved—not only for the wounded but also for all those present. Their lives are forever changed.

Now, the neighbor: the wife and I were on the phone last night with our San Diegan friends Dos Marias, making plans to take a cruise later this year. The wife was on the cell phone and Internet at the same time (the way of the times) while I was answering the “land line.” It was Cheeseball Neighbor and her dog, who were in her car in front of our house. She alerted me that she had been robbed and was now awaiting the police. She asked to bring her dog over so we could watch the dog while she dealt with the police.

The wife and I have experience in the “being robbed department,” so we immediately felt intense empathy for Cheeseball Neighbor. We immediately invited her and the dog in. For those of you who have not experienced being robbed, I can tell you that there aren’t very many more violating things that can happen to you. It's an awful feeling, your personal space so violated. (Actually, I do have some funny stories about being robbed, but I'll save that for another, lighter day.) I met her outside, got the dog and made sure the police had arrived. Four squad cars sat in front of the house, no lights or sirens. It seems that she couldn’t get in the garage (ah, the robber had unplugged the automatic garage door opener—a sign of someone who has definitely done this before) and so when she went in through the front door, she was greeting by a not very friendly site: furniture tipped over, personal belongings everywhere.

Side note: Freckles HATES Cheeseball dog and tried to bite the poor thing several times. The dog even tried to hide in the closet at one point. It was only after an hour or so (and after being bopped in the head numerous times) that Freckles calmed down enough that Cheeseball dog could lay down for a few minutes. Here's a photo of Cheeseball dog squeezing into Lucy's bed. (There's not much funny today but the sight of that scared dog squeezing into that shih tzu sized bed was humorous).

After many hours, Cheeseball Neighbor (CBN) resurfaced at our house. She brought along a police officer but we had heard or saw nothing, so we were of no help. It is unnerving to know that we were literally at home in the room closest to the neighbor’s house, while the robbery took place (most likely between 6:30-7 PM). After the officer left, CBN spoke of the police going through the house, weapons drawn. I am here to tell you: the investigation after getting robbed, back in 1985 or today, is nothing like on CSI. The police did send a crime scene photographer but there was no making casts of the obviously-the-robber’s footprints in the snow or searching for that one strand of hair that will make the case. In fact, we were pretty much told the person won't be caught and in most cases, they are not caught.

The wife and I went to her house and took a gander. It was not a pretty site.

If any of you have ever seen the television show “It Takes a Thief,” you will know what the scene looks like. In fact, this whole ordeal was just like the TV show—everything from using her own pillowcase to carry the loot to the quick destruction of the home to find anything possible in the shortest amount of time. The wife and I could only look at each other and note how much it was just like the show. It was a great show, by the way—we picked up a lot of great tips of how to make our home safer. Go to this site for additional info on the show & security tips: http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/ittakesathief/tips/homesecurity/homesecurity.html ....Nothing was left unturned. Every drawer emptied. Every cabinet open. For god’s sake, even the frig was open.

The person got away with jewelry, credit cards, electronic items small enough to carry out the door. The person also stole Cheeseball Neighbor’s feelings of safety.

Losing your feeling of safety is a lot worse than losing your jewelry.

Today, the wife asked that I walk around the house and take photos of everything we own. I gladly obliged. I thought it would be a bit light hearted to display this photo of my 500 albums from the 1980's along with the crap I keep in the basement (quite to the wife's horror--but at least it's only in the basement). In the afternoon, we spent time helping CBN put things back in order. I’m thinking that more importantly, we provided someone who understands, someone who could listen, someone who could take action when taking action is too overwhelming to think about. The wife was in her cleaning glory. What a woman she is!

No, in most ways, today is not a day of love, but I hope Cheeseball Neighbor feels the love. And, to those at NIU: know that we are thinking of you and I hope you feel the love, too.