My letter to a thief

[mommaU4]

Not to sound catty, but if you leave your cameras on window ledges and such, they are just asking to be stolen. Chalk it up to a lesson learned. If the camera and it's contents were that valuable, it needs to be taken care of and kept a closer eye on.

Wishing bodily harm on someone? A little much.

Hmmmm.... it must be nice...

SeaShelley, please tell your son that in my 34 years I have made plenty of not-so-smart moves and have lost some very valuable items. Nobody's perfect, mistakes are made, accidents happen. I'm sure I've got a few more in my future!

Now if you'll excuse me while I go find a pillow.......

 

[kelleigh1]

Last year, I found a cell phone on the train which had fallen down between the seat. Since it was early morning and only the 2nd train of the day, I knew that it hadn't just been dropped by someone. I looked through the address book and found a listing for "home", so I called it and left a message saying that I'd found a phone. The owner called me back on the same cell phone later and gave me some info about the phone and we made plans to meet so I could get it back to him. Apparently his teenage son had dropped it a couple days before and hadn't realized it until shortly before my call.

We met up that afternoon and I gave him the phone. He tried to give me $20, but I wouldn't take it. Hubby asked why I didn't accept the money and I told him that first, I wanted the son to learn a lesson - that there are people who will do good things for others, so hopefully he will "pay it forward" in the future. And second, I don't know their financial situation, but I know that in our situation, if roles were reversed, I wouldn't have any money to give to them as a "reward".

So my point...try to still believe in the good in people. There are plenty out there. And hopefully, teach your son that even though this one bad person took what wasn't theirs, there are still people out there who will do good and return what they find...and I trust that your son would be one of them.

 

[oogie boogie]

Sorry 2 hear bout the camera! Well i'm not wishing bodily harm on the thief, I will wish bodily discomfort!

Dear thief,
I hope u sudddenly come down with a discomforting rash where the sun doesn't shine!!! BOTH PLACES!!!!!

Sorry...
hahahahaha..........

 

[kittymasi]

We were at MK several years ago, when my little brother was just 8 or so... he's going to MIT next year... wow. Ahem, anyway... my father let him carry the fanny pack with some cash in it for a few minutes to let him feel important. NOT a good idea!! He left it in the bathroom, too! We didn't realize it until we headed for the next ride, and had to walk ALL the way back, all of us so tense... someone had turned it in to the nearest shop. I would like to think this happens more often than not, but obviously, it doesn't happen all the time. I saw a show one time where two guys found a video camera in a taxi, and they taped themselves driving all about London trying to find the woman it belonged to. They ended up returning it to her, and she had a great time seeing the two awesome guys that made an effort to return her property. She was on vacation with her family too. Don't fret. Karma makes the world go round, and sometimes that shows up in unexpected places.

 

[SeaShelley]

Hmmmm.... it must be nice...

SeaShelley, please tell your son that in my 34 years I have made plenty of not-so-smart moves and have lost some very valuable items. Nobody's perfect, mistakes are made, accidents happen. I'm sure I've got a few more in my future!

Now if you'll excuse me while I go find a pillow.......

Momma - thank you so much for that laugh.....God help that pillow!

I have told my son those exact things. He still is upset with himself, but we keep reinforcing the whole everyone makes mistakes thing.

 

[SeaShelley]

Sorry 2 hear bout the camera! Well i'm not wishing bodily harm on the thief, I will wish bodily discomfort!

Dear thief,
I hope u sudddenly come down with a discomforting rash where the sun doesn't shine!!! BOTH PLACES!!!!!

Sorry...
hahahahaha..........

PERFECT!!!!!

and kelleigh1, thank you for that story. My son and I both know that there are good people out there....we certainly saw our share of them while we were on vacation! We also know that for one "bad guy" there are hundreds of "good guys".

I really appreciate everyone sharing their stories here. It's nice to know that we are not alone in this "loss". We certainly didn't let this ruin our whole vacation and it is a lesson that my son will carry with him forever.

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Your post brought back memories. 3 years ago we went down to the Jersey shore for a week with my DS (15 months at the time). This was our first family vacation with our brand new digital camera. On our last night we went out for dinner and I forgot the camera at the restaurant. I didn't realize that I lost it until the next morning when we were checking out. We went back to the restaurant but it wasn't there and we were told that nothing was turned in for lost and found . I actually hoped that it might turn up later, since maybe some of the staff that were working that night wouldn't be back till later in the afternoon. I left them my phone number and even kept calling back after we got home, but it never turned up . I was so terribly upset, so I can understand how your son is feeling. Just let him know that it can happen to anyone, even an adult. We are all human and things happen, you just always hope that people have enough decency to return something valuable that they found (especially in a restaurant or some other place that obviously has a "lost and found"). Eventually I got over the fact that I lost a $600 camera, but every time I think about someone having that memory card with a week worth of pictures my stomach turns. I am sure they deleted those pictures, they had no use for them. But to me those pictures were priceless, as I'll never be able to recreate that first family trip with my DS, and since he can't remember back to when he was 15 months it would have been nice to be able to show him the pictures.
I hope your son feels better, and I completely understand wanting to let some steam off.

 

[LUV2DZNEE]

I'm so sorry about the loss of your camera and memories. Several years ago DH and I went to Savannah for a weekend getaway. When we checked into our room, we found a video camera in one of the dresser drawers and promptly turned it in at the front desk. The next day while we were out of the room, someone stole a bottle of Chanel from my makeup bag. I'm sure it was the cleaning staff, but couldn't prove it. My DH said it just proves that "no good deed goes unpunished". I hate to believe that, but boy it really made me mad so I can imagine how angry you are about a digital camera. Hope the rest of your trip went better!

Chris

 

[Pooh1219]

I know there's lots of good guys out there, but after reading this thread, it makes you realize that there are also a lot of bad guys out there just waiting to pounce on someone who gets a little careless while they are on vacation. I'm a grown-up, not a reckless kid, and it happened to me, also, about 20 years ago.

I was on a dream trip and had my camera taken. We left the Grand Canyon, arrived in LA and were at Universal when it happened. The camera was a very expensive Canon SLR with zoom lens attached, but the worst of it all was it had the sunrise of Grand Canyon left on the film. We ate lunch, got up and walked out of the restaurant when I realized I left the camera on the table. By the time I got back, all of about 1-2 minutes, it was gone, and never showed up again. I'm figuring the miserable fungus rash I wished on the person who took it has made him pretty miserable! Tell your boy to forget about it, it's over and nothing can be done. Move on and learn from his bad experience. I'm sure he feels really terrible, but accidents happen to the best of us.

 

[MissMichelle]

I totally understand you are upset..I would be too...I am FOR YOU! lol
I haven't read through the rest of the posts but I am "pretty" sure you didn't mean what you said about having something stolen from their child and/or physical harm

Edited to add QUOTE"I know my comment may have sounded harsh, but I challenge any mother not to feel this way, even for a moment, about someone who has caused their child pain, physical or emotional."

Applause That was said perfectly. I feel the same way when something happens like that in front of my child. It is a hard lesson learned and he will get over it, but learn from it too.


Glad the rest of your trip was great! WOW Tiger Woods! That is awesome

 

[Ride Junkie]

I agree with you - don't feel bad about wishing them harm! It's just venting after all.

A few years ago, I left my camera in a rental car. When I called to see if they found it, they said yes. However, when I went to pick it up, it was gone. Turns out they had just fired an employee, and when she boxed up her stuff, she spitefully took my camera with her! Never got it back, but the rental car agency did replace my camera.

The bad part was the pictures I lost. I had taken these amazing pictures of a hummingbird's nest close up, with the mama bird sitting in it, and of the eggs. There were also pics with my grandfather, the last time I ever saw him alive. So, I hope the slime that took my camera got hit by a bus!

 

[carol-lamb]

SeaShelly - Boy can I relate to your story. I have lost 2 cameras at Disney World and they were never turned in to lost and found. I lost one this summer, a brand new camera I had just bought for the trip. Lucky for me that we shot a full roll of film on our first day there and I had taken it out of the camera at the hotel room and didn't store it in the camera bag. To this day it still puzzles me what happened to that camera. The last time I saw it it was in the car. When we got back to CBR resort I sent my daughter out to the car to get it after I realized I didn't bring it in the room. She came back and said it wasn't in the car. I thought maybe it fell off the seat when we got out, so I called lost and found for a couple of days and they never had it. Years ago, my husband left our camera in the MK on a bench and we also went to lost and found, but no such luck for us.

 

[elliemae1192]

I think you have every right to be upset. If you find something in the garbage, I think it's pretty safe to assume you can keep it. If you find something sitting on a window ledge where it was OBVIOUSLY forgotten and you keep it, that's STEALING!

Ignore all the criticism and vent away. You are absolutely entitled to your feelings.

And be sure to let your son know that karma will take care of the thief.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Your post is almost as "bad" as the deed done unto you. Have you ever considered therapy?

I agree though that it is a sad world we live in where we must always be on guard and cannot accidentally leave anything like your son did. But wishing for the same on them or for them to be harmed is sick.

I hope you learned your lesson and maybe your son will be more responsible in the future.

 

[jbthi]

I'm sure her 11 yr. old son feels bad enough without being called irresponsible. I think he probably realizes he made a mistake like we all do at times.

A little off the subject but I still remember years ago when my DH and I found a large roll of money on the floor under a booth at what is now Kona restaurant at the Polynesian. We were sitting at a table across from it. If the last people there were the ones that lost it, they had been gone about 15 minutes. We turned it over to a waiter and waitress. They came over before we left and said it really wasn't much money, it was all small bills. We didn't count it but it was really thick and I saw at least a few twenties. I still feel bad about that. I'm convinced they kept the money. If I had it to do over again, I would have given them the information of how to get in touch with me and kept the money myself, hoping to find the owners.

 

[SeaShelley]

Your post is almost as "bad" as the deed done unto you. Have you ever considered therapy?

I agree though that it is a sad world we live in where we must always be on guard and cannot accidentally leave anything like your son did. But wishing for the same on them or for them to be harmed is sick.

I hope you learned your lesson and maybe your son will be more responsible in the future.

Why, no, I have never considered therapy. Did you ever consider reading this whole thread? You'll see from my subsequent posts my explanation for the vent.

Our lessons have been learned and you can rest assured that my son will be more responsible in the future....thanks for your concern.

 

[bytheblood]

WOW - there are about a million things going through my mind.

I am sorry that your pictures from your trip were lost. Those are priceless items.

Wishing harmful things on people is a bit extreme. Back in my days of driving like an idiot I had two radar detectors stolen from me. I think I may have said that I wished they got a ticket anyway, but never hoped they got into an accident. I understand your anger, but please, take the high road. Your vent is justified, however. And I am sorry that your pictures did not make it home with you.

How do you know that your camera was not turned in and Disney has not quite figured out who it belongs to? Do you know how many items Disney finds in a single day? Could you imagine finding 7000+ items in one week and trying to get them to their rightful owners?

We visited in June and left a waterproof camera sitting out that had my husband's name, cell phone number, our reservation number as well as our resort on it and it came to us in the mail in September. Imagine trying to return something to somebody without all of that information.

If Disney does have your camera and returns it to you, you sure will feel like a real *******.

Read this:
http://www.local6.com/news/2245148/detail.html

Just a side note: We left the camera by the Aladdin ride and when we were called, we were called the same afternoon by DTD stating they had it. Do you realize how far that camera traveled in a short time? And we did not even want the thing back.

 

[SeaShelley]

WOW - there are about a million things going through my mind.

I am sorry that your pictures from your trip were lost. Those are priceless items.

Wishing harmful things on people is a bit extreme. Back in my days of driving like an idiot I had two radar detectors stolen from me. I think I may have said that I wished they got a ticket anyway, but never hoped they got into an accident. I understand your anger, but please, take the high road. Your vent is justified, however. And I am sorry that your pictures did not make it home with you.

How do you know that your camera was not turned in and Disney has not quite figured out who it belongs to? Do you know how many items Disney finds in a single day? Could you imagine finding 7000+ items in one week and trying to get them to their rightful owners?

We visited in June and left a waterproof camera sitting out that had my husband's name, cell phone number, our reservation number as well as our resort on it and it came to us in the mail in September. Imagine trying to return something to somebody without all of that information.

If Disney does have your camera and returns it to you, you sure will feel like a real *******.

Considering that my camera was stolen at SeaWorld, Disney probably won't be returning it to me.

Folks, if you're going come down on me for being "extreme" in my vent, please get your facts straight and read the whole thread. It was a vent; I have not hired a private investigator to hunt down this loser and whack him (or her). I am simply getting out my frustration on a message board.

To those who have shared their story and can understand where I am coming from.....thank you...again.

 

[bytheblood]

Considering that my camera was stolen at SeaWorld, Disney probably won't be returning it to me.

Folks, if you're going come down on me for being "extreme" in my vent, please get your facts straight and read the whole thread. It was a vent; I have not hired a private investigator to hunt down this loser and whack him (or her). I am simply getting out my frustration on a message board.

To those who have shared their story and can understand where I am coming from.....thank you...again.

You are right and I did read that. My apologies. And as I said, you have every right to be upset, but I still think your words were a bit extreme...even for a vent. And I still think that if SEA WORLD locates your camera, you will still feel like a *******.

 

[MareSINY]

The same sort of thing happened to my sister in March. We were at Disney for a week with the entire family, it was my dad's Christmas present to all of us. It so happened that schools in Florida (where my brother lives) were closed the same week my niece turned 4, so our family vacation also became her birthday celebration. We did Wishes on the night of her birthday, with the cake and all. My sister took lots of great photos that week which can never be replaced. They had an earlier flight home than us and when they got to the airport they realized they left their camera bag in the front seat of the car. They called me and asked me to contact Alamo and see if we could pick up the camera on our way home (since we were leaving later that morning from the same airport). When I got to the airport and had them check they had no signs of the camera. All that they said was that it wasn't turned in, which we know means that someone from Alamo stole it. My sister was devistated, she didn't care about the camera, those are replaceable, but the memories captured in those photos, those were priceless.

So I totally understand the OP's comments about the thief who stole her camera. You can see by what she said, about at least turning in the memory card, that the memories in those photos were more important than the monetary value of the camera.