Mayhem

Yesterday afternoon somebody broke into one of the boats at my dock and stole some of the electronics onboard.

They came back last night and ransacked essentially every boat on the dock, stealing radios, stereos, TVs, anything that could be sold quickly for an easy profit. A team of deputies and a forensic unit spent the entire day taking photographs and collecting evidence. One owner told me he estimated the damage to his boat alone was at least $25,000. And there was more than enough damage to go around.

Lots of bad words, angry people and sour faces swarming around the dock today.

One of the two suspects was apprehended around 8 AM this morning after being identified by witnesses ... allegedly he was in possesion of a handgun.

When I arrived one of the deputies took me aside and said, "Looks like he got yours worst of all. Man, he totally trashed it." You can imagine how my heart sank. But then ...

Remember me saying "essentially every boat on the dock"? But not mine. He left The Kid untouched. What the deputy didn't realize is that my little boat's interior always looks trashed. Or Totally Trashed, in forensic terms. Because she's "undergoing rennovation."

Right.

Heck, I'd even removed one of the windows overnight to have the cracked glass replaced, figuring nobody was dumb enough to come back and strike twice in two days. All the guy had to do was come aboard and climb inside.

But the culprit left The Kid untouched ... probably less from altruism and more from pity because my poor boat is a floating junk pile after all, or maybe because he thought she'd sink with his extra weight onboard. Maybe he thought he'd slip and get strangled by the loose speaker wires dangling from the ceiling (that is, if The Kid even had a ceiling under her exposed joists).

Which forced me to endure a long afternoon of ribbing from other owners who teased, "I'm surprised the guy didn't break into your boat just to give you some of the stuff he stole from ours."

I'm not sure whether to feel blessed or insulted but I think this one's an easy call.

Poor Kid. Just makes me love her that much more.