This past week someone tried to steal my purse. In the past I had shared my ruminitions about the dangerous properties of persimmons (10/20/04) and other things I might be carrying with me in case I needed to use them as weapons. On this day I was carrying hot tea and dried squid (the squid was not for me). I was not on a desolate street as I had imagined, but on a crowded sidewalk when I felt a hand on my purse and the other on my back. I didn’t realize until afterward what was happening, but my reaction was to yell, “HEY!” And for once in my life my big mouth did me some good. He dropped the purse and disappeared into the crowd. And so it was not the things I was carrying with me that helped me, but the power inside of me.
My sister was not as lucky this week. Off in a very different environment—a small town where people keep their front doors unlocked and their car keys in the ignition—she had her car window smashed and her purse and other belongings stolen. As we talked about all the calls she had to make I thought I’d share with you what both of us have been reminded of this week:
1. Know what’s in your wallet. Photocopy its contents or write down all your credit card numbers and phone numbers to call in case they are stolen and keep this in a safe place.
2. Don’t carry more than what is necessary.
3. Know the numbers of the three main credit bureaus and call them asap if your wallet is stolen. They are: Equifax 800-525-6285
Experian 800-301-7195
TransUnion 800-680-7289
No comments:
Post a Comment