In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place.
If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that!
You see, I'm in
the Red Queen's Race...
Pillaging More Than Monuments
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Jul 1 2008, 06:50 AM
I blogged in May about a Naval Reserve Station in LaCrosse, WI that had a 2000 lb. anchor that went missing, most likely at the hands of thieves who turned it in for scrap metal. Who knows how much money that anchor was worth?
With some people tight on funds, instead of picking up cans for recycling for a few extra dollars, the lowest of the low have found a way to make bigger bucks. They’re doing it in none other than cemeteries.
From Chicago to Florida, to Arizona and Texas, they haven’t yet become grave robbers, per se, but they might as well be. They’ve started with ornaments, such as vases. Some just flimsy and decorative, but others more heavy and ornamental.
The stakes are higher in Scottsdale [AZ], according to Jim Welch, director of family services for Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery.
“While thefts are fewer, stolen bronze vases weigh about 4 pounds and cost $495 apiece. The cemetery foots the bill for replacements.
"We had a theft in January," Welch said. "They took two vases. We haven't had any incidents since then."
Welch said groundskeepers placed replacement vases the same day and families weren't contacted.
"It's very saddening that thieves are preying on cemeteries and grave sites," Welch said. "I don't know what to say that it's come to this, to steal from cemeteries.
We have to put an end to the problem. Police and scrap metal dealers are aware, and we're getting cooperation from them.
"We are open to the public. We can't really close our gates. A cemetery is known to be accessible to families. You don't want to stymie that activity."
View the entire article from Red Orbit
E.V. Scrap Metal Thieves Turn Attention to Robbing Graves
That’s just an example, and it’s happening all across the country. So, what used to be elegant and long-lasting as a monument for loved ones, will soon end up being plastic as another sign of the times. What these thieves don't realize as they make their quick buck is that when a loved one comes back to a cemetery and sees a monument or vase for their loved one missing, they've pillaged part of a heart or memory, too.
I guess that’s why the Egyptians sealed their tombs. But alas, that didn’t work either.
Tomb Robbers!
