[snakeplissken]

Our family went to the Christmas parade downtown Sunday. My brother in law is the head of traffic division for the city and ran the show. As we were sitting on the sidewalk, my sister noticed that a derelict was easing closer to our son's stroller, which held my wife's purse.

My sister, being the bold one she is, got up and scooted him off before he could snatch her purse. I was proud when she told me she knocked him off his game.

The parade ended and we loaded up all the kids. We went home and my sister and her family went to Jason's deli in St. Andrew's Shopping Center. My brother in law showed up and parked his unmarked Tahoe right next to her Yukon. They were parked approx. 50 ft. from the front door and it was still daylight.

They walked out 30 minutes later and see that her driver's side rear window is shattered. She accidentally left her purse in the front floorboard while getting her newborn and 3 other kids out of the car.

Gone. She didn't have much cash, mostly credit cards and checks.

What a pain in the ass. It's ironic to me that she was so vigilant when that guy was easing up to Kelli's purse and then this happened to her, with her truck parked right next to a police vehicle.

After they dusted her Yukon they brought it by my house so I could Shop Vac all the glass out of the interior.

Moral of the story - keep everything out of sight when you park the car while shopping.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have a radar detector/aftermarket gps, thieves look for the telltale suction cup marks and will break in even if you take it out of sight.

Merry Christmas.