The thing I’ve noticed about common sense is it isn’t exactly a common thing.
This thought occurs to me almost every week when I’m proofreading the police report in our newspaper on production day.
Often, and especially in the summer season, there are items in the weekly crime rundown about people having their vehicles broken into and a variety of things having been stolen. Sometimes it’s just minor things, but a lot of the time it seems these folks for some reason have every nice thing they own — laptops, expensive digital cameras, iPads, iPods, diamond jewelry, suitcases filled with money, whatever — just sitting in their parked cars when they visit Shannon Falls or one of our parks.
Hey, who am I to judge? I always bring my collection of Faberge eggs and Justin Bieber hair clippings I got from eBay along whenever I go for a family picnic.
But what always gets me in these reports is the too-often “vehicle had been left unlocked” part.
Now, I know Squamish is a pretty awesome place, inhabited by typically friendly and honest Canadian folk, but even a picturesque burg like this has its crime… otherwise what would we put in the police report every week? And it’s not like we don’t appreciate the content, but who doesn’t lock their car doors when there’s the cash equivalent of Luxembourg in your back seat? I guess these are the same people screwing up our gene pool, for whom the “Caution: Contents Are Hot” warning was put on take-out coffee cups.
Sure, you may want to just chalk it up to simply those darned doe-eyed tourists getting hit by sticky-fingered hoodlums, although one would assume there is also crime wherever they call home so they should know better, too.
Oh, but the police report also usually recounts home and garage break-ins as well where the doors have been left unlocked and some unfortunate soul has been relieved of his or her $5,000 mountain bike.
I occasionally leave my garage door unlocked as well, but only when I’m home… plus my bike is a Canadian Tire special worth only about $200 and no self-respecting thief is going to even look at it twice.
So now that it’s summer here in Sea to Sky country, I thought it’d be a good time to remind folks — visitors and locals alike — that maybe it’s a good idea to just bring your sense of wonder and adventure (and not everything in your house) when you head out to enjoy all Squamish has to offer. Also, lock your friggin’ doors people!
But if you choose to ignore that simple advice, don’t worry. We always have room for more items in the weekly police report.
