"So, when you gettin' a dog?"

The first time I ever had something stolen, it was this girl Tracy Young in preschool. It was my birthday, and for your birthday you got to pick out a ring from this box. I picked out a beautiful watermelon ring - I'd had my eye on it since Dusty Salmon's birthday. Tracy sat across from me, and asked if she could try on my ring. When I gave it to her, she said "Finders keepers losers weepers" and blew a raspberry at me. I was inconsolable. The teacher wouldn't make her give it back, either, saying it was my fault for giving it to her. I felt so damned crappy. Although I did sing at Tracy's wedding fifteen years later, I still never really got over it.

I still feel that way every time something gets stolen from me, even now.

Yup, you guessed it, we got burgled (is that really the term? Sounds so dorky). Our garage did, anyway. We'd moved a bunch of power tools to the garage while we painted the basement (apparently not our brightest moment)and lo and behold! they'd disappeared. Jerks broke in through the window. They even stole my dry cleaning - all my best clothes. SIGH.

We've learned a lesson, albeit one I wish we hadn't. Keep nothing of value to you in your garage. Good thing is, I talked to our neighbor and she was cool with the fence, even wanted to talk about splitting the cost. Plus we're going to get a security system. And all our neighbors keep asking when we're getting a dog. Within a ten house radius there are three huskies, two german shephards, an akita, two labs and a yippy little terrier.

Now if I could just get rid of the crappy feeling ...