I bought an Acura TSX in early 2008. This thing is loaded and it looks awesome. It’s fast, quiet and still gets nearly 30 mpg’s on the highway. The difficulty I am having is that today it was broken into…..for the second time.
The first time it was “violated” was in front of my house, and to make matters worse, it got rained on all night long. I live in Haverhill Mass, which is a community of very wealthy people on the outskirts and a downtown filled with litter, shopping carts and those who like to discard litter and shopping carts in the street. It’s an interesting mix-to put it politely. There is a Mercedes dealership across the street from a check cashing business and a pawn shop.
The thugs were after my Garmin GPS unit, and they got their prize. I left the suction cups on the windshield and hid the Garmin in the glovebox – unlocked. Lesson learned (or so I thought). Like a dumbass I used this opportunity to justify buying a better GPS unit. One with live traffic, all the posted speed limits and a huge screen. I protected this like it was my second child. Well, maybe not. I wouldn’t lock my kid in the glove box or hang him/her from the front windshield. You know what I mean though.
Yesterday I headed out to work and took the GPS unit with me because I had a meeting in South Boston, and that place baffles me. One wrong turn and you’re on a one-way conveyor out of the city entirely. I went to my meeting and returned to my office. I work in downtown Boston (when I actually go to the office) and I park in the Government Center Parking Garage next to my building. The garage is located between the City Courthouse and the Beacon Hill/Financial District precinct of the Boston Police Department. Pretty safe, or so I thought. Sometime yesterday afternoon some loser thugs smashed the window, tore through the car and found my beloved Garmin in the center console. I didn’t leave the suction cups on the window, but I didn’t lock the Garmin up either thinking the garage had enough traffic that someone wouldn’t take the time to hunt for valuables. Luckily they didn’t steal the Starbucks frequent coffee drinker card I keep in the console as well. I am one cup away from a free Venti.
I found my smashed in car on my way out yesterday and notified all the proper authorities, including the Keystone Cops who work security in the garage (who incidentally were playing cards in their shack when I found them.) They filled out a “report” which consisted of scribbling on the back of a notepad. Not the paper, but the actual cardboard back. I asked if they had the place under surveillance. The response was “no, that’s why we’re here”. So a bunch of card-playing assholes, who didn’t look like they couldn’t outrun a drunk turtle, are in charge of the security of all vehicles in this garage. Ok….
I then walked next door to file my police report. The officer was very helpful and understanding of my frustration. I don’t have a history with the Boston Police, but the few encounters I have had (nothing illegal), they’ve been very professional and humane.
Back to the garage I go to get my car and haggle my way out of paying the $33 for the day’s parking. The garage manager, which surprisingly was a woman in her late 20's or earily 30's, made a phone call and the blundering troop of security guards show up a few moments later, armed with a vacuum cleaner, Windex and riot gear type face masks. They sucked every fleck of glass out of my car and wiped down what windows remained. Then all four of them jumped into the same golf cart and sped away, tires screeching. Apparently between card games, these guys found time to drop a Chevy big block into their golf cart. The garage manager then asked me for my parking ticket and validated it.
So I got to thinking on my way home. Don’t cars come with alarms? And if so, why the hell didn’t mine go off? Maybe it did, but the security team was tuning the engine in their golf cart and didn’t hear it. I was told after the first break-in that factory alarms only sound when someone tries to pry open the door. Well who the fuck is going to take the time do that? That could take hours. Apparently you can smash a window and be gone in less than a minute. Well that doesn’t sound ok to me. So instead of going to get a new Garmin this weekend, I will be buying a real car alarm.
Thank god glass claims are free in Massachusetts.
No comments:
Post a Comment