Happened to see local news last night. Seems a woman in Aledo was identified from a security camera steeling garden hose or something. They were able to ID her quickly because she was caught stealing Christmas decorations a few months ago.
Last year someone stole my tall rain gauge by the street. It is the only place were there are no trees. I replaced it will a little one. Someone picked it up about 2 weeks ago. Then returned it 2 days later at the edge of our lot. My guess the latested theif was busted by a parent...or guilt.
So it goes....c

I saw a preview of that Cynthia, something about the santa bandit. Didn't know she took a hose this time.

I did wonder if it was a neighbor kid who was harassing them. We've never had a problem at our house, at least not for years and I leave garden tools on the front porch and garden hoses in the yard so they'll be there when I continue the job the next morning.

I just wondered if there was a market for a certain kind of garden hose that I hadn't heard of yet.

1) Sell it
2) use it
3) mischief

People do surprising thing for a few dollars. I know the hose in my front yard cost me near $50 and the bark yard hose was slightly shy of that.
When I was young, we would take anything for the mere purpose of a misguided thrill and sell it, not that we really needed the money, One night my parents found a stash of money hidden and I was 'persuaded' to change my friends and ways...

Here is the link from last night's news story.

Here is a link that might be useful: She steals stuff?

How did your parents convince you to change? Surely it wasn't as simple as showing you the error of your ways.

And who do you sell a garden hose to? Doesn't seem like there would be a big black market for that, or any real money on CL.

Yes, kids do crazy things! The worst they've done around here is turn on the water to get a drink and then not turn it off. Oh and practicing fencing by slicing off heads -- of flowers ... LOL

Several years ago, my dad was cleaning the lawn mower and removed the gas tank. He went inside to get a rag and when came outside someone stole the lawn mower. lol I bet it was pretty useless with out the gas tank. stupid criminals.

Our common sense and basic awareness takes many years to develop. Some of us never fully develop one. Must of us have done crazy things when we were younger and sometime down the road things just click like a puzzle inside our head. I keep telling that to myself when dealing with my students.

Omar

I wouldnt say it happened over night as more of a process...It involved an 8 hour drive to see my grandfather in prison - serving 26 years.

As far selling thing, you just ask around: Hey man, I an extra hose laying around, I'll sell it to you for $5...

I thought maybe they reached your brain through the seat of your pants. But yes, that reality shock would do it too.

Something similar happened to me in January. I went to Disney and had yellow pots in my front lawn from decorations we had at Christmas. Both pots were taken but nothing else. Still don't know why they would take a $10 pot.

Stealing is sometimes a thrill for some but causes harm to others. I remember when we were young we went into a farmers watermelon patch and took a few. Then we went to visit some friends working at the local soft ice cream drive-in. Swapped melons for ice cream. The next day I got sick and when I threw up ice cream and watermelon I was asked there I had the money for ice cream and watermelon. My bottom was persuaded to never take that which was not mine again.

I'm more inclined to believe that it's someone who wanted a good garden hose and can't/didn't want to pay the money for one. Seems like people here in FW steal the darndest things. Businesses lock up pallets behind razor wire (didn't realize pallets were so valuable), random stuff gets stolen from construction sites, I've had UPS packages stolen right off my front porch. Especially in cases when the stolen item gets returned, that sounds like someone was just too lazy to buy a friggin' garden hose. Or they couldn't afford it but they didn't want to steal, per se. Just simply borrow. From a stranger. From their personal property. Without them knowing. This is such a strange town with very strange people to me.