A home security system does not need to be that expensive to be effective, and can save a lot of grief. It's a shame that these folks did not have one.

Another thing to remember is that such burglaries and thefts occur increasingly in the last week right before Christmas, as many folk who are either out of work or otherwise not gifted with fundage for whatever reason sometimes get desperate, and take the direct approach to acquiring "gifts" for themeselves or their families.

I learned from MVPD recently that two other local thefts right near one another were for, of all things, *Christmas lights*.

Sad...but true.