I learned yet again today the hard lesson that one has to exercise constant vigilance against the miscreants who share our earth. I was in MEM visiting my sister. We stopped at a nice restaurant before heading to TUP to spend the holidays with our parents. In less than two hours, in broad daylight, in a busy parking, thieves broke into our car and wiped us out: luggage, computers, and gifts. It makes for a bitter start on the holidays.

I share this story because I want to make sure that everyone hears the bitter advice that I have been giving myself this evening: be cautious, better safe than sorry. I have been kicking my own rear since early afternoon for leaving some bags in plain view and not thinking that the things locked in the trunk were "fair game" for a thief. In the words of Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there."