My shopping trip to Fry's began as all the others, finding most of the items on my list in their usual places. That's as it should be. After all, I've been shopping there since I arrived at beatitudes Campus almost 4 years ago. Checking out and leaving the Market was uneventful until I reached the exit. I observed a young boy, slight, around 12 to 13 offering to help an elderly woman with her bags, but she rejected his offer. Being just behind her, he saw me driving the buggy with the basket on the front with my cane and several bags in it. Admitting to myself that I must appear to need help, I wasn't too surprised when he asked, “Can I help you mister?” I had already noted his entrepreneurial aspirations and was prepared to accept his offer and give him a generous tip.
We walked a short distance to my leased Honda Civic as I fished the keys from my pocket. My young helper handed me a bag of groceries and then a couple more. I reached for another couple of bags and saw him reach very quickly into the scooter basket, grab my black shoulder bag and begin running, at top speed, toward the wall separating Fry's parking lot from the large apartment complex to the east. I shouted “STOP HIM! HE HAS MY BAG.” That had no effect on my young thief, but it did get some attention from other shoppers, groundskeepers at the apartments, and a security man inside the store. Meanwhile, the kid was long gone with my bag which contained my wallet with everything an identity theft operation would need in order to wreck my orderly, peaceful life. Fry's Security called the police who arrived within 10 minutes or so. Other customers, naturally curious, hung around to find out what they could as I gave my statement to the Phoenix Police.
I admit that I was not fully alert, as I should have had my bag over my shoulder instead of in the basket with the groceries. He would have had a big-time tussle taking it away from me before others arrived to help me. I have vowed to myself that I will be more alert and plan for any such eventuality. Meanwhile, I've already been to the DMV for my duplicate license (a two-hour wait), joined the LifeLock program advertised on line, spoken with the police again, and had several conversations with Lucille, our very helpful manager of the BMO Harris bank branch here on campus. Of course, there's still much to do, but I'm well on the road to getting things back together.*
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