Y'all I am so upset at myself and at the other persons involved.

After dropping Nappy off at the bowling alley and on the way to pick up Chewie from his girlfriend's house - I had to run to the Wal-Mart to get cat food. For the feral cats out front. Because that is the kind of person I am. I feed stray cats. I give change to the homeless. I help out anyone and everyone. I like to think I am a good person and if I died today I wouldn't have an issue standing before Christ and letting him me judge me. I ain't perfect - but I do try and make a positive mark in this world.

Anyways.

I put my cat food in the trunk of the van and moved my shopping cart up towards the line of carts infront of the van. And I promptly left my purse in the child's seat of the shopping cart and drove off.

I picked up Chewie and headed home to find my purse was missing. I sped back to Wal-Mart while Tobey called them to be on the lookout for my purse.

Being Christmas time and all I had hoped someone had turned it in. I prayed and begged God the whole ride back to Wal-Mart. But they didn't. They stole it.

So all the credit card companies have been called.

My two day old brand new phone: gone.

All the pics I took of Chewie and Chewette today. Gone.

My checkbook. Gone.

Pictures of the kids. Gone.

My dead Momma's drivers license that I kept along with mine. Gone.

4 thumb drives (one brand new) containing all my Etsy artwork and God knows what else. Gone.

MP3 player. Gone.

My business cards. Gone. My Etsy business cards. Gone.

My brand new personalized business card holder. Gone.

A few bucks in quarters in the bottom of my purse. Gone.

Some old pin needles that I never threw out. Gone. Hopefully the theives won't prick themselves as they rifled through my purse.

The important paperwork on my stent with the ID number and location and size and all that info I have to show every.single.time I see a doctor. Gone.

A Valentine's Card from Chewie that he gave me when he was just a little guy. Gone.

My ID badge for work. Gone.

All my medical insurance cards. Gone.

My voters registration card. Gone.

My Smokey Bones restaurant card. Gone and I had points on that thing!

My diabetic ID bracelet. Gone.

I can't go into alot of detail as the person that has my purse has my blog address and my Etsy address but I did post some stuff on Facebook where no one can see anything unless they are on my friends list.

I am still hoping I will get my purse back. Other than the phone there wasn't anything of value in it. Keep the change - keep the phone. Give me everything else back. None of the cards had been used and they are all cancelled and all the checks have been stopped so really - what else can you do with the contents of my wallet other than laugh at my driver's license picture? I really would like to think that the person who took my purse's intention all along was to turn it in. But when we called my phone the first few times and it rang and rang.....and then after a few calls it went straight to voice mail so either they turned it off or had already pulled the SIM card out of it...well...at that point they didn't leave me much choice.

And what makes this even worse is that every card I cancelled I got charged a fee to order new cards. I will have to go to the DMV and get a new drivers license - so there is time off from work. I have to pay to get a new badge at work. Etc. Etc. Merry Christmas.

To the person that stole my purse. Yes. You stole it. It actually is against the law for you not to turn it in. Did you know that?

Oh what the heck eh. Might as well say this because this might be your only way out of the mess you got yourself into. You do realize that Wal-Mart has surveillance cameras in the parking lot. You do realize that the Sheriff has already opened an investigation. You do realize that they already tracked you down from your purchase in the store because you were wise enough to use your food stamp card prior to finding my purse in the parking lot. Did you not think of any of these things while you were doing the wrong thing of putting my purse in your vehicle instead of taking it into the store and turning it in? What did your wife or girlfriend say about it? Was she as complicit as you?

The way I see it is you only have two options.

1. You can wait until there is a knock at your door. Even if you get rid of everything including the phone. The Sheriff still has got you on film and Wal-Mart is happily making them copies. They won't care if you have ditched MY purse and stuff - again: they have you on film stealing it.

2. You can contact the Sheriff's office at 727.582.6200 and turn my purse and all of its contents back in and say you found it and wanted to do the right thing. I won't press charges if you do that. And yes, you would have to turn everything in because again: they have you on film and you can't deny that you stole it and that the contents magically disappeared.

Regardless of the outcome I forgive you for taking my purse. I don't know what your situation is but to steal from someone I can imagine it isn't fabulous. Being on foodstamps I know your money situation isn't good and you most likely have little mouthes to feed. I surely don't want you and the other person involved taken away from your family by being arrested during the holidays. Is my phone worth the bail money you and your wife/girlfriend are going to have to come up with? I don't think so but that is just my opinion. But you stole from a woman who works hard for a living. Who has 5 kids. 4 in college. I have 3 rescue dogs and 3 rescue cats. Life on my end isn't exactly easy either. So I hope you do option #2. And if you don't that is okay too. I know you have your reasons and I will pray that Jesus touches your life in a positive way.

~April

Follow up:

I didn't get to bed until around 6 a.m. this morning but wanted to fill y'all in.

When I went in to the Wal-Mart and the Customer Service Manager said they didn't find my purse and added she even walked around the parking lot looking for it - I am sure she thought that was the end of that. But. I asked if they had video of the parking lot and she called the store manager up and we spoke. I could have easily walked out of the store without even mentioning it and we wouldn't be where we are this glorious morning.

A little after 7 a.m. I hear a tap, tap, tapping from the living room. It was a different deputy at the door with my deputy on the phone. They got the bad guys and recovered my purse and ALL of its contents! Yay!

And then she asked if I wanted to press charges.

If they would have turned it in - I wouldn't have. But they didn't. The man that stole it took the deputy to a dumpster where he ditched my purse. She said they had no intentions of giving it back. She said there were two small children involved and CPS would be involved. Which broke my heart. I asked if the folks they had in handcuffs had records. She said they didn't and that she scared the beJesus out of them.

So now my deputy just dropped my purse off. Nothing is missing.

She wants to know if I want to press charges. I say yes. Whole heartedly yes. But. Forgiveness. Christmas. A four year old kid. A five year old kid. The wife/girlfriend told the guy who stole my purse to take it inside store. But then she also tossed it in the back of their Surburban once the bad guy tossed it in. I just don't know what to do or think at this point. I am out a few bucks replacing credit cards. I am out a nights sleep. I will have to go to court etc. if these yahoos don't plead out.

My deputy is calling me back at 11 p.m. when her shift starts and I will give her an answer then.

Now - I'm going to bed, happily going to bed!

~ames

on Sunday, December 18, 2011