Brett Jolly’s Thought for Today (Last night there was an attempted car jacking on my street)

I live in a “fairly good” neighborhood. It is usually very peaceful and at times I will feel safe enough to even take walks at night. Last night my son told me there were a lot of police cars outside. We went outside to check and we found that there had been an attempted car jacking on my street. Two guys wearing masks went up to someone in a car and shot him. The good news is that the man survived and the attempted robbers did not get his car. However, the robbers did get away. Several of my neighbors were outside with us and we discussed the situation. Since we never had anything like this happen before we thought about measures we could take. Of course, more lighting was discussed. Thieves don’t want to be seen. Also cameras would be a great help. If you place them on rooftops then you can monitor any strange behavior. Most times thieves will canvass a neighborhood first to see if it makes for a good target to hit. With cameras you can survey them while they are surveying you. If you see “anyone” in any car wandering around suspiciously then it might make a lot of sense to write down the tag number and report it to authorities. Also take note of any vehicles with dark tinted windows. These people don’t want to be seen for a reason. My neighbors and I will get together soon to discuss strategies. We can’t assume anymore that this can’t happen to us (because it just did). The best way to deal with unwanted behavior is to have a well laid out plan for it. You may want to do the same. If you live in a fairly good neighborhood then you need to take heed because most thieves will think there is more valuable property where you live. Make sure to tell your family that wherever you go, look around “before” you get out of the car (“especially” women). Sometimes taking a little bit of time to make sure you are safe can make the biggest difference. This world is crazier now. Be prepared for it, and please be careful. Thank you for checking out my Thought for today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Norman Connors, Brett Jolly and saxophonist Benny Barksdale