The violation of the Intrepid.

Well, I filed a police report, just to make sure there weren't repeat offenders running around the block, stealing car stereos from unsuspecting Intrepids.

I always lock my car, but I suppose I didn't last night. It's so easy to lock--just push the button. How did I forget last night? How could I forget? I always lock it.

And then someone took the stereo. I'd hope for a note in the mailbox, or under the visor or on the seat, crumpled as though it was a second thought. Sorry, but I need to feed my family. Or, at least, sorry, I'm just a stupid punk kid with no understanding of how to treat people and I really don't like working for my dope.

The itrip was gone, too. I loved that itrip. Now, when I come home to Minnesota in a month, I will be met with 5 hours of silence. Of wind whipping in the window.

I'm grateful for some things. I'm grateful that the thief was too stupid to see the ihome radio I'd had lying in my backseat, yet to be unpacked. I'm grateful they left my briefcase, with the fancy pencils and the little cards from students; I'm grateful that they didn't break a window, I'm even grateful they left the little metal box that housed the stereo so it might be easier to put in a new one, someday.

But, I'm still pretty fucking angry at humanity, angry that when I'm low, low, low, broke, broke, broke, that someone takes the one thing on my car that actually made me happy. The one fucking thing that worked. Now, there is just a big hole in the Intrepid on the inside, like a gaping gummy mouth, with spaghetti-like cords spilling out.

Christina, they got my April mix.

And I'm laughing at some things. Who--who--looks at the Intrepid and says: hey, that looks like a car that has a lot of valuable shit in it! I'm definitely going to steal from that car. Clearly the owner of that car has a lot of money and has had a lot of money for a long time.

When the police officer showed up, I told her that it was clearly a MINNESOTA HATE CRIME given my plates, and she thought that was pretty funny. Welcome to Green Bay, she said.

Before she came over, I told Jenny I was going to ask her if she needed to check for prints. I was going to tell her that I'd found a pubic hair next to the front tire. I was going to ask if it was too late to do a rape kit.