Tools stolen and what happened next

Shortly after we moved into our house almost a year ago, some tools were stolen from our patio de servicio, which is a locked, roofed small space with closely-spaced metal grillwork for two walls and the other two of brick. It's where we keep our washing machine, lawn mower, tools, and so on.

It's happened again.

Kelly's toolbox was taken one afternoon this week while the patio de servicio was unlocked and we and our dog were home in the house. Also, a person who must have been small got in a tiny window of our motorhome, made quite a mess looking for things worth stealing, and ended up just taking a few more hand tools and the speakers for our music system.

We had fenced our property but there is one area where someone could get in and evidently did. The deed was done by a group of boys or teenagers.

Yesterday when our gardener arrived, we sat down and told him what had happened. Roberto is very civic minded and is himself the father of nine, ranging in age from early 20s down to about eight. We asked his advice about what to do, and he said that there have been a lot of thefts recently in the town, but that often they are not reported to the police. He said it would really be best if we would report it, and that he would help us if we wished.

I said I had heard that small town police were often not that good, but he assured me that he knows them and that this would be the best action. We have a lot of respect for Roberto and quite easily decided we would take his advice. I had other plans for the afternoon but that didn't seem to matter -- Kelly alone would be fine. I still don't know if that is because they were his tools or because he is the man of the family, or what.

Anyway, the police came and asked what had happened and so on. They didn't write anything down except Kelly's name, but they strongly urged him to go to the nearby town of Jocotepec, the capital of the municipalidad (like a county) to file a written report. So Kelly and Roberto decided to do that after I got home so I could go too. In the meantime, they had a talk with the caretakers of the house next door, as things had been taken from it too. Kelly said Roberto and the other man had a long conversation, in quite rapid Spanish, about the causes of the problems with kids and so on.

It was about dusk when Kelly, Roberto, and I drove over to Jocotepec. I had heard that there was a Chinese restaurant, the China Inn, on the main road into town, but I had never noticed just where it was. When our business took us two doors away from the restaurant, that solved the question of dinner. I ordered takeouts, and they were delicious when we eventually got home.

We went into government offices which consisted of a waiting room and two small offices. First Roberto explained the situation to the young man in one office. This guy asked for Kelly's ID and sent Roberto across the street to a commercial photocopying place to make copies of Kelly's passport and FM3 visa.

Next, we sat by one of the two desks in the other room. Two young women worked there. They each had a desk and computer, and there were some file cabinets. A picture of Jesus hung over one desk. The woman who helped us had a document on her computer and she asked Kelly questions about his age, where he was born, and what happened. This took about an hour.

It was actually pretty interesting. I was grateful that we weren't there with anything more serious. Roberto and I had a chance to continue the conversation that we had had going earlier in the day, about what is going on with these kids. This is not going to sound any different from the US: bored kids, not a lot to do, parents who either don't care or have little time for the kids, drugs, alcohol. But hearing it here, from someone who is actually involved in improving conditions as Roberto is, made me feel more a part of the community that Kelly and I, and quite a few other foreigners, live in. Drugs and alcohol are definitely here, as they are in practically every small town on this entire continent.

It was getting late (Mexican offices, like stores, are open into the early evening) and I was quite tired. I just let Roberto's Spanish flow into my ears, in an almost hypnotic way. While I was following less of the details of what he was saying than I normally do, I was also taking in the Spanish in a more right-brain way. I liked that. Kelly and I were both really glad we had Roberto along as there was a lot we didn't understand in what the other people said.

I mentioned to Roberto that one of the women I had seen that afternoon was selling tickets for an event in a couple of weeks, a kind of tour of the town for foreigners on February 5, ending up with refreshments at the cultural center on the plaza. The cost is 100 pesos, as a fund raiser for soccer uniforms for kids. He knew about that.

So Kelly and I are still dealing with the repercussions of the event -- it's yucky to know that someone was stealing from us while we were right here. We are talking about changing the fencing, maybe keeping the dog outside somewhat more. Through Roberto, or some other way, we may get more involved in the town.

Meanwhile, the weather has been gorgeous, high 70s every afternoon, while our friends in Colorado end their emails hoping that we are staying warm and cozy. Every place has its challenges.