Dear MMDers,  A few days ago I noted a submission indicating that
a piano technician had all of his tools stolen from his car.  I am
truly sorry for him as he is not likely to recover any of them.  Many
items stolen from cars are by thugs seeking items that they can sell.

A few years ago, my wife and I were on a "gig" with our WBS fair organ
and our Raffin street organ.  While we were staying overnight at a
motel, our truck and trailer were broken into; a window in the truck
was broken and the rear trailer door lock was broken.  They made a mess
inside the trailer, dumping boxes of cassette tapes and even removing
the back from the organ.  Nothing was taken, however.  We were very
lucky.

From the truck, though, they took my complete box of mechanics tools
(except for a 17-inch flex handle which they used to break into the
trailer) and a suitcase.  My wife is very careful when we travel and we
take _everything_ into the motel room with us.  But, I had kept about
30 Raffin organ rolls (at about $100 a pop) in an antique suitcase.
Very cute I thought.  The thugs, however, never looked inside but just
grabbed the case and ran.  I am sure they were looking for jewelry,
etc., that they could sell.  They must have been very surprised to find
the organ rolls and I am sure they just trashed them as they would not
be salable except to an organ owner.

My points in all this are: the piano technician's tools are probably
not marketable to the general public and therefore probably were
dumped.  Second, if you must keep things in the car, make sure it is
obvious that they are not worth stealing to the average thief.  I now
keep my Raffin rolls in a milk carton.  Not very elegant but very
visible.

Cheers,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, Florida