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“Bad People” Taught My Children About True Courage
Stay helpful and kind in spite of fear
My elementary-aged children are having a crisis of faith in humanity this week.
My husband and I have not intentionally sheltered them from realities of life since our family began tuning in every night to Ms. Norah O’Donnell on CBS. They are aware of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and the not-so-occasional shootings at schools and other crowded places all over this country.
Therefore, I did not think twice when my kids asked to see the 13-minutes security video footage, which we’d filed as part of a police report, documenting how their dad’s electric bike got stolen from a private garage in Back Bay at nine o’clock in the morning.
Bike thefts are common in greater Boston. Years ago, at the height of the pandemic when even used bikes were sold out everywhere, someone had broken into our home garage, stolen our race bike, and trashed the space. I was home with the children that morning, navigating the early stages of their online remote learning.
Local police never solved that case. We were only thankful the burglar(s) did not venture into our house that day through a then unlocked conjoining door, linking the garage to our laundry room.
