Spreading Holiday Fear

Yes, it's that time of year again where we see the holiday season invoking fear in the hearts of many. Last night, I got a call from my sister telling me that our parent's house had been burglarized. Thankfully, nothing of value was taken, they were probably looking for cash (and my folks don't keep cash in the house), but my mom was still afraid they would return later that night.

 

Then earlier today, I had to respond to a crime scene to assist some very nice people who were held at gunpoint by thugs who robbed their store.

 

Some families are going to have a great Christmas, as a result of all this thievery.

 

Until today, I've never really given much thought to our house getting broken into. We don't keep many valuables in the house (we don't really have any) other than our flat screen TVs, but then the more I thought about it, I remembered my laptop! What if someone broke in and stole my laptop (which is totally worthless because the internal battery is dead and it only works if I keep it plugged in). All of my writing that's stored in it would be lost to me forever. Just like that. 

 

Never mind all of the WIP's and short stories that I'd never be able to replace, but more importantly, I would lose all the time I put into all of my writing. Time that I consider to be the most valuable possession I own. 

 

This weekend I totally intend to invest in a nice thumb drive to back-up all my files. They can keep the laptop - I need a new one anyways.