... it really tied the room together.

Like so many other Powell Countians, I now can say that I've been a victim of a burglary. Before I elaborate on that, let me tell you a little tale...

A year or so ago a young man with a sketchy-at-best past fell on hard times. He'd run afoul with the law and gotten himself in enough trouble to be thrown out of his home to wander the streets (and by thrown out of his home I mean he'd been thrown out of the last home that would take him). I knew the young man, and felt that it was possible that he may have been getting a bad reputation largely from the misdeeds of some of his relatives, so I decided to give him a second chance.

I let the guy move into my house for a few days, giving him my trust and putting a level of faith in him that thus far no one else ever seemed to do. I'd return to find him wearing my clothes or eating my food, which I just chalked up to a total lack of manners and certainly not malicious behavior. After a few days he went on his way and I felt genuinely good about myself, I had given the guy a shot at being a decent human being and I was missing a two-dollar Goodwill shirt and a few slices of pizza for my efforts, not bad.

Now, let's fast-forward to the year 2006. May 22, 2006.. I had just obtained a rather large collection of old John Coltrane records and was looking forward to "going home, having a glass of bourbon and relaxing to some music." Of course, living in a dry county doing that would require a trip across county lines. So, with a couple of friends in tow I made my way to Winchester to obtain some of the devil's elixir. Another friend of my was slated to join us later on, so I left her a voicemail informing her that the door would be unlocked, to come on in. A last minute change of heart caused me to lock the door... at the end of the day it didn't really matter much.

As we left the scene I noticed the aforementioned kid playing basketball on the public court next to my place. I gave him a wave and went on my way, slightly hesitant but confident that he'd reformed himself... or at least he wouldn't do anything shady to ME.

Upon my return home I walked through the house, went directly to the bathroom and noticed immediately that the familiar glow that once emitted from the corner of the house was gone... someone had taken my Coors Light neon sign! A very quick look back at what was missing and who was in the area left only one solution... after all, any other thief would have taken things of more obvious value. Granted, the sign is probably worth around four hundred dollars, but with a computer, HDTV, and stacks of DVD and CD packages lying around, why take that!?

An image of my living room with warm glow still in tact.

So, I did what any red-blooded American would do... I took off in a pickup truck to find the sonofabitch. I went by his usual locations but couldn't seem to find hide nor hair of him. Sometime around then my landlord called, asking me to file a police report and go through the proper channels. Respecting her as I do I went back to my apartment to file it. Long story short the policeman went to this person's home and sent word that if the sign wasn't returned by 11 o'clock there'd be serious trouble... this morning the sign was in my driveway.

So, I guess it's time for the moral of the story... but I'm not quite sure what it is. I don't think a good moral would be to never trust anyone or to never give people a second chance when they're down on their luck. But I don't think a sufficient moral would be to let people into your life on good faith when they have obviously sketchy backgrounds. Of course there's the, "don't judge a book by it's cover" life lesson, but in this case I probably should have. However, I know for 100% certain that it's a bad practice.

I guess the lesson learned here is that life is one big mass of gray. That black and white just isn't the way the world goes 'round. Should I have let this guy into my life? Well, knowing what I know now the answer is certainly "no." However, should I have given up on him like everyone else had, that answer is also a fairly solid "no." So, with that in mind I'll take my licks, be happy that the light was returned and go on with my life.

But, for the record, he'd better hope that he never, ever runs into me again... that's an absolute goddamn fact.