Well, we did it. Carl and I payed our first (and hopefully last) installment of our "City tax" as some friends like to call it. For those of you who don't know what I means, well...we got our bikes stolen. It is amazing how when some object is taken from you, you immediately suspect everyone around you as the culprit. We try not to but sometimes those feelings seep through. Maybe it was the nun who lives downstairs;)
It becomes easy to see how residents who have lived through the 80s and 90s in Detroit and dealt with numerous "City taxes" can get jaded. My sister, just this year has dealt with a break in and a stolen vehicle.
It also just made us sad. Because now that stereotype that we try so hard to fight is right back front and center. Detroit is a place where people steel things. Mind you, we didn't get mugged at gun point and have our bikes stolen out from under us. No, someone just hopped the fence of our backyard (which was locked) and grabbed our two bikes (which were not locked, silly us) and threw them back over the fence...in broad daylight.
So we are no longer the new residents of Detroit that assume that bad things will never happen to us. But hopefully we can still maintain the faith in the city that things can and are getting better. Although, why does a bike being stolen mean the city is so bad?
Just the other day I was telling a new intern at MCRMC that our bikes were stolen. He's from NYC. He was like, yeah...and then went on to tell me the numerous times his bike was stolen. One time he came back to his bike, which was still there, got on and road for a second, which felt funny...and he looked down and someone had replaced his minimally nicer bike handle with a cheaper one. Well...at least they replaced it. Even trade?
So why do stories like this make Detroit so notorious, yet NYC can still claim it's habitability. Ah well, no use in getting mad about it. Luckily we got a good claim on our renter's insurance (hopefully they don't boot us now).
My bike was getting kinda old anyway I guess. Hopefully whoever has it now is making the best of it. Maybe they gave it to their kid who otherwise would not have ever had a bike. Or maybe they just used it as the getaway vehicle...God bless them and I pray that they are sustained and fed.