4.06 am, that’s what it was when I was woken up. Last time this week I think it was a bit after three. And by the same bloody car alarm. The thing went off just long enough to wake me up and unsettle my seven year old.
Why? I mean, why is it my business whether your car is being stolen? At this time of the morning I just don’t care. It’s unfortunate; I do deplore car theft; but I do not see why I should be woken up way before rosy fingered Aurora gets going just because someone is trying to make off with whatever it is you’ve left on the back seat. I suppose I should be directing my ill humour at whoever it is from our local criminal class who’s out and about robbing cars, but in fact the person I really want to poke in the eye is the car owner who feels that when his property is being violated, it’s worth waking up the neighbours for. And to do justice to our local criminal youth, they do operate in daylight hours too. The last time I witnessed a car theft, right under my nose, it was on a Sunday afternoon on a nice bright day.
John Liu showed us the way to go. Ditto Eva Moskowitz. These were the district representatives in NYC who in 2002-03 tried to ban the sale, installation and use of car alarms in New York. Tragically, their bills got nowhere but they had the undoubted support of city residents. What we need is exactly the same thing here. If you want to make sure no-one tampers with your car, take all the usual precautions; lock the thing three ways, remove all the sources of temptation. But don’t wake me up. It is now 4.29 and you know what? If your car is being burgled, I. Don’t. Care.
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