NO FAIR!

All right, if you must know, people also steal cars in Tacoma. For example, here's a photo of our front driveway and our two Toyota Camrys:That's right, the two Camrys are both completely gone. On Sep 19, my wife and I went to the Western Washington State Fair in Puyallup, a town ten miles east of us. We parked our sedan on the street a few blocks from the fairgrounds and then spent the next 5 hours touring exhibits and animal barns. When we returned to where we had parked our car, it was gone. Unfortunately, we had kept our garage door openers in our cars. With that and the registration in our glove box, the thieves were able to beat us home, take our valuables and our second car.

Ten days later, our local newspaper reported the breaking up of not one but three car-theft rings. Of course, it's not strictly a Tacoma problem. "Officers searched three private residences, in Tacoma, Federal Way and Des Moines, as well as Import Autos Sales in Puyallup…." However, the cover story in our paper on Sunday, Oct 2, explained how greater Tacoma has the 14th worst car-theft rate in the country (down from 7th three years ago).

Here's what we've learned from the experience:

• Older vehicles are not immune from theft, they get stolen and stripped for parts.
• Toyota's made between 1986 and 1992 often have nearly identical keys; since our glovebox was locked, whoever took our car probably used a key to open the car, drive it away, and get at our registration.
  
• Assuming you leave your registration (or other documents with your address) in the car, don't even think about leaving your garage door opener in it too.
• Don't leave any personal items in your parked car that you'd hate to have stolen with the car.
• If your house has an attached garage, keep the door from your garage into your house locked when you're away.
• Don't keep all your jewelry together in a single, unlocked jewelry box.
• Don't leave identity documents, like passport or social security card, in the same container or drawer with jewelry or other easily fenced items that thieves prioritize; you don't want them to scoop up your identity along with the material valuables.
  
• Backup your computer files, especially if you use a laptop.
• Join a spiritual community; our church friends responded to our crisis immediately, but we're still waiting to hear back from our homeowner's insurance carrier.
  
• "Theft" falls under "comprehensive" on your auto insurance policy; if you don't carry comprehensive coverage you get zip for your stolen vehicles. Good thing I like to walk. : )

P. S. My camera gear was in my backpack, safely with me at the fair.