The Other Side Of The Trade….

My memory is not what it used to be and two moves ago I dispensed with pounds of old reports from my days as a road trooper, however; I remembered a lesson learned from an old, not too swift, burglar.

I had just come on the air when I learned a service station in Lexington, about 30 miles north had been burglarized. As luck would have it, I fell in behind a well known burglar and thief slipping back into Odessa. I stopped him and noticed burglary tools lying on the passenger side floorboard and the easiest burglary arrest you could possibly make followed. I cannot remember this thief’s last name, his first was Alfred. He was just out of the penitentiary and needing a little cash. I arrested him based on my observations and he soon confessed to the crime with the meager proceeds of his thievery found in the trunk, a neat probable cause arrest.

Alfred was talkative, not a member of MENSA, and we talked burglaries for awhile. One of his skills involved drilling a residential lock to gain entry to a home and he talked about how easily it was done, if you knew just how to do it. He was on his way back to the pen and had nothing to lose by talking about his “trade”.

Last night we left home in a hurry. My hard working wife was in excruciating pain and we were on the way to the ER where she was diagnosed with a non-displaced rib fracture. ER’s, even the good ones, are swamped with patients who, on the dole, crowd the waiting rooms for routine stuff, but can’t pay for it, and this brand new ER was no exception. We left after midnight, pain meds on board and returned home and discovered we were hopelessly locked out as we had left with no house key. Who does this, you ask? Asked and answered.

We ended up in the garage but the entry door to the house was also locked. Sharon casually mentioned my experience and suggested I “drill” the lock. We had an assortment of power tools at hand and after checking for an unlocked window, she googled drilling locks for additional advice. The trick is to start with a small drill and gradually increase them in size until you create a space big enough for the pins to fall out. We got ‘er done and gained entry in about 30 minutes.

I had never done this, but followed the advice we found on YouTube and was amazed at how easy this was. Alfred was right. There are tricks to every trade, even thievery. My business was policing and Alfred’s was thievery. Last night we traded crafts and I owe him a thank you.

Sharon, loaded on good drugs slept well, I am headed out to buy a new entry lock, and all is well. Another factoid, a broken rib coupled with a thoroughly aggravated intercostal nerve can result in terrible pain. She hurt herself a week ago, we ignored it much to our chagrin and met yet another nice doctor.

Have a great week!

SR