July '10 Home & Family—Susie Isaacs Column

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The Dark Side
I
try not to write or even think about anything negative, but sometimes life takes a negative dip. For example, I bought the home I now live in, which is bigger than I need and in a great neighborhood, for investment purposes. Today, like so many others, I am so upside down that I hope I live long enough to acquire equity again. I had a fine house (which would be completely paid for today) but the neighborhood was rapidly going down the tubes.

Karma, when you do bad, bad will come your way.

One day, I opened my garage door, got in my car, started it, and realized that I didn’t have my sunglasses. I put the car in park, left it running, and I ran in the house to fetch my sunglasses. Thank God, they were right inside the garage door on the washing machine. My turnaround time was seconds. When I opened the door to dash back to my car, I was stunned to see a young black girl (not prejudice, just the facts) with her hand on my door handle. I was too shocked with the realization of what was happening to be afraid. “What are you doing?” I screamed. She ran and jumped in a truck driven by a white man (not prejudice, just the facts). Like a fool, I jumped in my car and gave chase. I had no idea what I was going to do if I caught them, but I did get the license plate number and called the police. Lesson learned. I now lock my car if I am going to leave it, even for seconds.

Like Mama always said, “Life is a state of change.” I was raised in a neighborhood where no one locked their doors unless they were going on vacation and then we had to search for the house key, as it was used so seldom.

I refuse to live in fear so I try to adjust.

Just a few days ago, a dear friend, I will call her Jane to avoid embarrassment, went to Best Buy to purchase a small light-weight computer she had been contemplating buying for a long time. She finally decided that she could afford it and she needed it so she went and bought it. She put it on the back seat of her SUV, and then she made a quick grocery store stop before going home. Ten minutes later, she returned to her car to discover the back window broken and the new little computer gone. It quickly became obvious that someone had followed her from Best Buy to the grocery store for a “smash and grab.” There was other stuff in her car—of value, but only the Best Buy bag was gone. Would they have followed her home to steal the computer at gunpoint? Thankfully, we’ll never know. Reporting the thief, getting the window fixed, and replacing the computer was all a hassle, but again, thankfully, the situation could have been much worse.

Don't live in fear, just be careful.

Moral of the story, be careful. Know that such scallywags are out there, ready to take what is not their’s and do any damage necessary. I truly believe in karma. I believe that when you do good, good will come to you, and when you do bad, bad will come your way. These thieves will get theirs, somehow, someday.