Kick me while I'm down

Last night somebody broke into our Galveston house. We're in Crested Butte. It was probably more than one guy, and they seemed to know what they were doing. They managed to get every flat screen TV, my liquor, our jewelry and watches, all 6 of my guns, etc. They went through every pocket of every jacket and pair of pants. They even took a break (after breaking into my game room) to drink my Jack Daniels and shoot some pool. Then they went next door and broke into my neighbors' home.

For those of you who have yet to deal with filing a claim on your homeowner's policy, here's an eye opener. You have, I'm certain, 'replacement value' insurance. In other words, the insurance company should pay you what it costs to replace something rather than its depreciated value. Good, right? But wait -- first you have to pony up a deductible that's 1% of the value of your house. That's going to be thousands of dollars. Then, and here's the good part, you make a list of what's gone and provide receipts and photos to prove you own them. No receipts or photos? Could well mean you aren't covered. Do you have photos of the sterling silverware you got thirty years ago? I don't. How about the watch you bought after your last foray through the house taking pictures?

Next you file your claim and they pay you. But hold on: here's how they pay you - They pay you the depreciated value. Then you have to go repurchase exactly what was stolen. You give them the receipt, then they give you the rest of the money. Nice, huh?

We were going back to Galveston this weekend anyway for a break from the cold for a few weeks. Now we get to go through our house and try to first identify everything that's gone, then go through old records to see if we can prove up what got ripped off.

As Kathy always says, "It's only stuff." She's right, of course. But it's more than 'only stuff'. It's that godawful feeling of being violated. When Mother Nature does it, you can at least shrug it off to natural forces. When people do it, it inevitably tarnishes whatever faith in your fellow man you've managed to retain.