The Theft Of Memories

To the Editor:

Rather than harp on the obvious and remind the individual(s) of the wrongfulness of their act, I would like to ask the person(s) who intruded in our home to finish reading this letter.

Of all of the things that were taken from our home, what you may not have realized was that beyond the value of the material items missing, you took something from our home that insurance does not cover and something that we can never replace. In the black leather bag along with our video camera were all of the videos that our family had taken over the past several years of our children.

The videos have no value to anyone other than us, the parents. But to us they are priceless. You’ve taken all video images of my children’s “firsts” — their first day home from the hospital, their first steps, their first Christmas, their birthdays, our son meeting his younger sibling for the first time, and many other special family moments. These are treasures only valuable to a parent. And so we ask, if you still have the videos that were in the black bag with the camera (of if anyone knows where we can find them) please return them or help us to get them back.

 As I stated at the beginning of this letter, my objective is no to scold you for stealing but to ask for the return of specific items I believe were inadvertently taken. Of course, I’d like to have the other items returned as well, but I cannot even begin to place a value on the importance of our home videos that are now gone. No further questions will be asked.

Sincerely,

Christine Ford

45 Toddy Hill Road                                                          July 2, 2004