My neighbor/friend's car was broken into last night. From what we can tell, only the radio was stolen. The jerkies tried to jimmie the lock on all four doors before they were successful. They must have known that you could reach the trunk from the backseat, too. The cops have been called and haven't shown up yet. This was in a very low crime apartment complex. How low crime? Well, this is the first incident I've ever heard of in two years. How low crime? I have accidently left my keys in the door overnight twice and they were still there in the morning. It's a very safe for the family place. Now, I don't know.

I am reminded of the time my car was broken into. Some friends and I went to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter the weekend after Mardi Gras. I was driving and parked by the French Market along a levee wall. The free parking was enticing to a poor college boy. We pulled up around midnight. New Orleans doesn't start kicking until then. I had one of those theft-deterrant CD players - you know, the ones you pull out and hide - and I popped the truck to hide it there. Thinking back on it, I remember some street punks hanging out near-by. I'm assuming they saw us pull up and, later, emptied the trunk.

We got back to the car around 5am and my friend wanted to put something in the trunk, so I gave him the keys. He said, "Uh...ML, where's the keyhole?" I thought he was too drunk, but upon further investigation discovered there was no keyhole. It had been jimmied out. The bastards got away with the theft-deterrant CD player, Pearl Jam's Vitology (not a big loss), a $200 used electric guitar (that was on loner from my cousin), and all the leftover Mardi Gras alcohol left in the cooler - including the 3 corked champagne bottles filled with one of my buddy's uncle's moonshine. Lennon was right when he sang "Instant Karma's gonna get you." Whenever I think about this incident, I can't help but picture some teenage gutter punks getting the surprise of their life when celebrated their looting by popping open that "champagne." Take that, fuckers!