Category Archives: anxiety

Is crime an issue in the election?

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Underwood typewriter
My Underwood typewriter given to me by PR, my former PR boss in the 80s and 90s.

There’s an editor of a newspaper called The Deseret who follows my blog. She’s called me a few times to interview me. Her name is Jennifer Graham. She is the Ideas and Culture editor of the Deseret News.

It’s been a few years since I’ve heard from her, but she emailed me this week to ask if she could link to my blog for an article she’s working on about crime.

Here’s an excerpt from her article:

Regardless of what the numbers say, many Americans don’t feel safe, and fear — not statistics — is what they’ll take with them into the voting booth. According to Gallup, “More than three-quarters of Americans, 77%, believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago, and a majority, 55%, say the same about crime in their local area.”

Significantly, the number of Americans reporting that someone in their household has been a victim of crime edged up last year. Again, per Gallup, “Overall, a combined 28% say they or someone in their household has been victimized in the past year by one of seven different crimes asked about in the survey, including vandalism, car theft, burglary, robbery, armed robbery, sexual assault and battery. The composite figure is up from 23% when the question was last asked in 2021 and from 20% — the low point in the trend — in 2020.”

Elizabeth Wickham, a blogger in Arizona, recently wrote that she knows two people who were mugged within two weeks. “If I know two people mugged in a short amount of time, this must be happening frequently,” she wrote.

https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/03/06/new-york-city-national-guard-subways-democrats-crime/

Graham said she thinks that it doesn’t matter what the actual statistics are, if Americans don’t feel safe, this is a problem for whatever party is in power. 

Here’s a link to an article that she wrote about parents hiring parenting coaches in 2018:

Why are parents hiring coaches — for themselves?

What are your thoughts about crime where you live?

Has it gotten worse, better or stayed the same?

Uptick in dinnertime burglaries

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Looking out our front door.

I noticed a helicopter circling our backyard after our guests left Friday night. That was odd. When we moved here a little over three years ago, I felt so safe. We went to bed without locking our doors. Our doors were unlocked when we went shopping or on walks.

Now I make sure the doors are locked even while we’re home in the daytime.

That’s because there’s an organized crime ring, using high tech gadgets to scramble WiFi and cameras, breaking into homes.

From the AZ Central:

Thieves responsible for a series of dinnertime burglaries in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley have targeted homes when residents were away and under the cloak of darkness. Jewelry, cash and precious metals stolen from homes have been sold on the black market.

Scottsdale police said a total of 33 burglaries were confirmed in the city; 131 cases have been throughout the Valley since the first trend of burglaries started in 2019.

The Tuesday meeting focused on what law enforcement describes as crime tourists, typically originating from South America, and the high-tech, dedicated means the criminals used to elude arrest.

Lt. Jeffery Hawkins, Scottsdale’s expert on the topic, worked on recent surveillance operations that saw the burglars in action. He said crime tourists were believed to be exploiting a visa-less entry into the U.S. through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. The waives a visa for tourists and businesspeople like bankers who are entering the country for a short time.

“We don’t know who they are. We don’t know their family. We don’t know where and if they’ve done any criminal activity in their native country like Chile, we don’t have access to that information.” said Hawkins. “It’s a blank slate that we have to start putting together,” added Hawkins.

Hawkins said the crime tourists often ship stolen items to South America or to be sold in larger black-market rings on the West and East coasts.

“This crew is fast, elusive and professional,” said Hawkins, who described the burglars as “ghosts.”

Hawkins also added that police have found the group using Wi-Fi and cellular signal jammers, which can disable the signal to a home’s security system. The device, which consists of a green plastic brick with dozens of black antennae exiting the top, can invade a signal from 30 to 50 feet away.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale-breaking/2024/02/28/metro-phoenix-crime-tourist-dinner-time-burglaries-continue/72774952007/

When we lived downtown Palm Springs, we had a homeless guy living in our yard. I had my bicycle stolen and we had two break-ins. One of the things I liked best moving to Arizona was the sense of safety. I’m so disappointed that I feel afraid in my own home, have my doors locked and watch helicopters circling overhead.

Have you heard about dinnertime burglaries or crime tourists?

What do you do to feel safe in your home?

Six Months Later…

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Photo from my son's wedding day.

Photo from my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding day.

It’s been a long six months, but Monday was the final treatment day for my daughter-in-law. Every two weeks, my son has driven her over the bridge to UCSF for chemo.

I’ll never forget the worry I felt during her surgery. We were on vacation at the time. They were supposed to spend a week with us in Santa Barbara at the beach when they found out she had cancer was was having surgery immediately. I wrote about surgery day HERE. The linked post includes a beautiful poem by my DIL after she met my son at UCSB.

Every day I pray for my DIL and my son. Over the weekend, they were moving into an apartment and my son hit his head. He hit it badly. I was in shock when my daughter called me from the ER.

He’s now down with a really bad concussion. Seriously? Do they need this now?

Have you noticed how life interrupts life just when you think it’s getting better?

What are your thoughts about how quickly this last six months went by?

Being in the moment

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This cardinal paid a visit to my Birdbuddy yesterday. He was fascinated by the camera.

I have struggled this week. Maybe it’s because it was a three-day weekend, we had guests and I got really, really tired. I think our eight-mile hike had something to do with that. Plus, my guests are always on the go and don’t stop to relax. Personally, I need some downtime and quiet.

I had hardly anything scheduled this week. Only a meeting about my HOA newsletter and a zoom call. You’d think I could relax and enjoy my days and evenings. Instead, I felt anxiety. I tend to be a worry wort.

Next week, I have a ton of things to do, appointments, lunches, and I’m throwing a belated birthday party for my husband. I spent this week worrying about all I have to do next week.

Walks and birdwatching help me to relax. But I was thinking if I was being present in the moment, I wouldn’t be anxious about next week.

How do you focus on being in the moment?

Watch as the cardinal pecks at the camera. After the cardinal leaves you can turn off the video 😊

Worrisome news

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Cloudy sky during our walk
We took a long walk, bundled up, between rainy days.

We were supposed to get together with our friends this weekend. I’m talking about the couple who moved from our old hometown to one mile away from us in Arizona. We were out for our walk when I got a phone call from them.

It turns out my friend was headed to UCSF — the same hospital where my DIL is receiving treatment for cancer. One of her daughters was mugged by a gang of teens to 20-year-olds during her lunch hour. They punched her so hard she has a torn esophagus. This was a gang from Oakland. She was mugged in San Francisco.

Less than two weeks ago, my DIL’s sister was mugged in Oakland. They stole her iPhone. Because it has tracking on it, the police were able to arrest the mob of teens to 20-year-olds and return her phone. She was punched in the face, but didn’t need hospitalization. The police told her that this is an ongoing problem and they were thankful for her help to catch the thugs.

I wonder if it’s the same gang that attacked my friend’s daughter and if they were released to mug more people within two weeks?

If I know two people mugged in a short amount of time, this must be happening frequently. My kids, my DIL and siblings and my friend’s kids are the only people I know who live in the Bay Area — besides a few bloggers I follow.

In my neck of the desert, there is an outbreak of burglaries. So far none in my neighborhood, but in the surrounding area. According to the Sheriff, it’s a crime ring from South America who hide in the washes behind houses and break in once the lights go out.

I have felt so safe here that we rarely lock our doors. I do now.

Do you feel safe where you live or have you noticed an increase in crime?

How odd do you think it is for me to know two people mugged in the same city within two weeks?

Life and Death

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Sunset saguaro
A saguaro at sunset.

Two texts arrived within minutes. One on my husband’s phone — a friend who was also a client had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was one of very few to make it almost five years since diagnosis. His daughter texted to tell us the news and invited us to services planned this weekend. It hit me hard. It’s the fifth death of a friend in a short amount of time. I feel mortality is fleeting and I’m scared, especially with my DIL’s cancer. It’s all too real.

Then my phone pinged and there was a picture of a beautiful newborn baby boy. The mother is a swimmer from our club team and was close to my son and daughter. I talk to her mother almost every week. She’s been one of my closest friends for years. I remember the first time I met her, we were at our first swim meet with our son and I felt lost and overwhelmed. My soon to be friend was the only smiling face I saw that day. She drove our second car from Palm Springs to Arizona on the day we moved, her husband following behind in their car. Now that’s a friend. What a joy to see a photo of new life in their family at that moment…

This weekend we’ll be going to a funeral as well as celebrating my dad’s 92nd birthday. That’s life. That’s death. Sadness. Joy.

Today, in my online writing class at Gotham Writers on plots (Gotham Writers was recommended by LA from Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50) I learned about Life and Death as a theme in plots. A coincidence? I think not.

Then I began a book to read, “The Indigo Girl” by Natasha Boyd. Here’s the opening page:

“No time is ours but the present…and that so fleeting, we can hardly be said to exist.” Eliza Lucas 1722-1793

The Indigo Girl, A novel by Natasha Boyd

What are your thoughts about Life and Death? Do you think it’s unusual to learn about a death and a birth within minutes?

Out of sorts

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Sunrise on a cloudy morning.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling off. There are a bunch of things on my mind.

First, my daughter-in-law who was approved for disability until the end of March, was cut off from it out of the blue. Now my son and DIL have to fight the system to get it reinstated.

Next, she was informed by her job through email that they are exploring termination because her 12 weeks of leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act has ended. I don’t think that is legal, because cancer is protected under ADA. The doctor gave her leave of absence until her chemo treatments are done.

It’s so frustrating to me that they have this added stress. It’s unnecessary and wrong and they shouldn’t have to deal with these issues while she’s undergoing her last few months of chemo.

We had a house guest over the weekend. He was a childhood friend of my husband’s and they were roommates when we first got together. I thought he was staying with us for a few days, but he left early Sunday morning after arriving the afternoon before.

Finally, we have a tenant who hasn’t paid rent and it was due January 1. He’s strung my husband along with excuses and promises to pay and finally admitted yesterday morning that he doesn’t have the money. This is the same house where we had problems — with possible illegal activity. I wrote about it HERE.

What sort of things make you feel out of sorts?