LOCKED UP GRILL

I have a grill on my front porch that is locked up to the bars in front of our guest bedroom window with a U-lock. I wish I didn’t have to lock it up, but earlier this summer, four ratty lawn chairs that I had put out there were stolen overnight. (I also wish we didn’t have to have bars over our windows, but our house was burglarized three years ago, so that’s a necessary precaution, too.) We’ve also had tenants who were into gardening have potted plants stolen off our front porch.

I know of friends of mine who live in urban areas who lock up their garbage cans. I haven’t gone that far, but I’m thinking of it. Our garbage has been moved down the street, picked through, and strewn across our sidewalk. I live in constant worry that I’ll be fined for illegal dumping on my property, and/or that I’ll take out my garbage one night and have to clean it up and put it back in the can the next morning.

Thankfully, we live on a relatively safe block. It is quiet, but with just enough foot traffic throughout the day and night to maintain a sense of security. But the things stolen off our porch and the trashing of our trash are frustrations of urban living that I could certainly do without.