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Someone stole my son's bike.


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And I'm ticked. Not that it was stolen, but that I've been telling him for months not to leave it out unlocked. It was a NICE Trek bike, too. He never bothered to register it and it wasn't locked up. We have a 20% chance of it being recovered.

 

I swear, I want to put him over my knee. Tough life lesson. Leave your stuff out and someone will take it. When, exactly, does responsibility kick in? UGH.

 

And, to top it off, EX wants us to buy him a new one! AUGHGHGHGH! NO! He is 21 years old, for the love of cake. When I was 21, I had a newborn and was barely surviving. I am NOT buying him a bike when he can't be bothered to lock it up or bring it in.

 

:banghead::banghead::banghead:

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I am sorry about your son's bike. What a frustrating situation!

 

I have a nifty stolen bike story--perhaps it will get your mind off your son's situation. :)

 

We live in a challenging urban environment. Our neighborhood is primarily working-class African-Americans, though there is an uncomfortable percentage that are either unemployed or on welfare. There are a LOT of unsupervised kids in my neighborhood.

 

We had a block party a couple years ago. Everyone had a magnificent time, especially the kids, who got to ride their bikes all over the blocked-off street. At the end of the day when we decided to meander home, we discovered that dd's bike was missing. Poor dd was shaky and teary, and the joy of connecting in a friendly way with our neighbors dissipated so that we just felt sick at heart, questioning if things could ever change in a place as challenged as this.

 

We have always had a good rapport with the kids on our block. In the days following the block party (and theft) our neighbor children conducted their own little investigation. About a week after the party a handful of boys knocked on our door and told dh that they knew who had dd's bike. Dh went with them to the house of the alleged perpetrator and saw dd's bike there. Our neighbor kids disappeared from sight and dh confronted the kid who lived there. Dh has a real knack for confrontations of this sort--he has a way of gently but firmly getting right to the heart of the matter. The kid confessed and gave the bike to dh.

 

When dd saw dh walking her bike home she was incredulous. Her father, her hero, had brought her bike home. She was so very, very grateful.

 

We were all so very, very grateful to our friends on the block who cared about us, about dd, and set out to help make the situation right. An incident that had originally felt like a kick in the gut ultimately was an affirmation of the good people who live here.

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It was careless of son to not lock the bike. But why would you not be upset about it being stolen? The thief was the immoral person here, not your son. Express your sympathy to your son whether or not you help replace his bike. It is a downer to get ripped off regardless of how careful one is about security.

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It was careless of son to not lock the bike. But why would you not be upset about it being stolen? The thief was the immoral person here, not your son. Express your sympathy to your son whether or not you help replace his bike. It is a downer to get ripped off regardless of how careful one is about security.

 

It is a downer. I told him to report it stolen, even if he never sees it again, at least there's a report of it being taken.

 

ON the upside, I'm hoping his lack of wheels will motivate him to get a better job with better pay so he can afford insurance for a car.

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