Watch Out!

It must be a sign of the tough economic times. Our little berg three miles away had a robbery, someone came into the store and while the clerks weren't looking stole two employees purses out of the office. Since the thieves were a minority, recovery will be difficult if not impossible.

My parents visited last night and I reminded my Mom who is a purse person, never to park her purse in a shopping cart. She said my Grandmother's purse was stolen in Detroit Lakes one day out of her grocery cart and Grandma hollered and hollered and the purse snatcher gave the purse up.

I have one daughter who leaves her purse in the grocery cart all the time, it drives me nuts when I shop with her and I often end up carrying her purse. Yes, me who cannot be trusted with a purse ( cause I kept setting it down and forgetting where in the store I put it) ends up on purse duty, guarding one that has everything in it but the kitchen sink and weighs about twenty pounds.

I have been tempted to make up a whole bunch of post it notes and leave one every time I see a purse parked in a shopping cart that could be snatched. I would probably get arrested, but it sounds like it would be a great crime awareness project for someone.

Our daughter Jen's purse was stolen at the Minneapolis /St Paul Airport, she was in the rest room trying to manage a child and lots of carry on items. Her purse was retrieved about a week later without her cash and her gift cards. Luckily her husband had the plane tickets or their entire trip would have been cut really short. She wasn't a real person until the Disney Cruise Line made her a photo ID. She also had a credit card in a drawer at home, it was used by an unscrupulous babysitter.. nothing is safe anymore.

So now you will get Far Sides tips. Make a copy of your Drivers License and put it someplace in your luggage if you are travelling. Make a copy of all the credit cards that you carry in your purse, copy the front and the back, keep them in a file folder at home. If your purse is stolen you will have the information at home ready to call all the phone numbers and you won't have to search your very poor memory..let's see..how many charge cards do I have? and how am I going to find all the fricking phone numbers?

My Father in Law gave me some very good advice one time, I was travelling alone with the girls to Mississippi. He said carry the bulk of your cash in your shoe..it worked..I arrived..I still had my cash in my shoe. I have used his great advice on many occasions while travelling.

My Aunt's sewed little cotton envelopes for their cash and they sewed them into their bras when they went to Europe. I am sure that there are many other great travel tips out there..do you have any to share? :)