September 26th, 2024
We got home from church just before noon. As I pulled up to the driveway, I noticed that something was missing in the front yard. I couldn’t immediately think of what it was, and then it hit me,
“The yard sign is gone.”
Once we got out of the car, I walked to the front yard and looked around. It rained hard earlier in the day, and I thought that maybe the wind had caught hold of the sign, even though I had the stakes buried pretty deep in the ground. Nope, it wasn’t lying in the ditch, and I didn’t see it anywhere along the street. I concluded that somebody with an opposing political viewpoint decided to remove it.
I told my wife and my daughter that the sign was gone. My daughter asked me eagerly,
“Do you want me to order another one?”
“Uh yeah, sure.”
“How about a flag too?”
“Sure.”
A couple minutes later, she said, “The flag will be here tomorrow. You could put it on the door or hang it on the house above the garage door.”
“Let me think about it.”
I called the police to report the theft. I knew that they probably couldn’t do anything for me, but I couldn’t let it slide either.
The cop showed up a few minutes later. It was Sunday afternoon during a Packer game, so he probably wasn’t very busy. He asked what happened.
I replied, “I had a yard sign in front of the house and now I don’t.”
“Somebody stole it?”
“Yeah.”
“When did you last see it?”
“It was there when I went to bed last night, but it was gone when I came home from church this morning.”
“What kind of sign was it? Biden/Harris?”
“No, Biden isn’t running anymore. It was Harris/Walz.”
The officer nodded, “Yeah. you’re right. How much did you pay for it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe seventeen dollars. It’s not much to report.”
The policeman said, “A theft is a theft. Anything else you can tell me?”
“Not really.”
“Do have a camera on your house?”
“No, sorry.”
“Do you have any issues or conflicts with your neighbors?”
“Oddly enough, no I don’t.”
“If we catch the guy, do just want your sign back, or do you want him arrested?”
I chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll find the guy. If you do, you don’t need to arrest him. Just put the fear of God in the guy.”
“Got it.”
I told him, “The main reason I am reporting this is because whoever stole the sign probably is stealing other signs. I’m probably not the only person missing a sign.”
The cop nodded. “Here’s my card. This is the case number. If you need to do so, call my number and mention the case number.”
The officer left. I thought to myself,
“This is so chickenshit.”
What kind of person sneaks into somebody’s yard to take a political yard sign? It’s just totally gutless. This is what a coward would do.
This is democracy in America in 2024.
New improved sign
Frank is Emptiness 
Frank, there are people out there that do not want you to support Trump or Harris. This does not justify taking your sign down. In conscience I cannot vote for Trump or Harris for their support of genocide of Palestinians and now the killing of Lebanese, the homeland of my grandfather. I can vote for a third party candidate but I know it will not matter: Trump or Harris will win. Is that democracy? Both parties support the evil of militarism and the evil of killing innocent persons. Bob Graf
LikeLike
Bob, you are correct in your analysis. I have often voted for third parties in the past. From 1996 through 2016, I voted third party. I voted for Biden in 2020 because Trump’s presidency was so horrendous. I don’t really like Kamala. I am just worried about another four years with Trump. The guy wants to deport 11 million people from the U.S. Do we have a democracy? Not really. We have the best government that money can buy.
LikeLike