Quote:
Originally Posted by jimt49
It’s very easy to believe we live in a bubble and are not subject to the ills of the rest of the world. Have there been burglaries and burglars caught in the Villages? Yes, I need look no further than my own neighborhood in Spanish Springs. The excellent job done by our local police departments alone is not enough. We need to take care of ourselves and one another just as we would living anyplace else. We do not need to live in fear, but be aware that there are bad people and things that we are not insulated from. Need further proof? Look up the Florida Sex Offender Registry and see that some of these animals live in the Villages. Yes, I lock my doors.
JimT
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I'm glad that most on this forum are not afraid to speak forthrightly. You, plus many others, have heeded the warning by the original poster, not out of naivety but out of intelligent awareness that the world we live in today is not always safe and trustworthy. Living in a perceived bubble can have consequences.
To me the original post automatically made me think it was a scam in operation...........if no one was home, they would have burglarized the place. If someone was home, they became a cleaning crew. It's so obvious. Ditto for the "landscapers".
I do not believe it is an urban legend. I think honesty would be the best policy by TV instead of glossing over various issues or problems....and blaming the original poster for creating a stir via an urban legend.
Even safe places are no longer safe........due to drugs and just the crazies out there. No doubt these "crews" mistakenly think all retirees are weak, docile, senile or unaware of their scams. There is crime in Florida as well as rampant drug problems.......which could conceivably spread to even safe communities or "bubbles" like TV. Just read the daily Orlando Sentinel online.
Several years ago, even in Vermont, a low density relatively safe state where everyone knows each other in town........a band of "gypsies" (true gypsies as reported by our police) would try the same trick of entering via screen doors and roaming around the house in the early evening , searching for valuables such as jewelry, cash..........in the 1970's and before that, everyone kept their doors unlocked, their cars unlocked, etc...........however, in the recent past we all keep our doors locked, ditto for cars.
So many people come up from the cities and need money to support their drug habits; Vermonters, like Villagers, are perceived as an easy mark. Our detectives in town are aware of this influx and try to scoot them out of town and warn the merchants of this element coming up from N.Y.C. to rural towns.
They try to infiltrate the local youth and get them hooked on drugs. Times are changing.........even in ultra safe places. I'm sure TV is no exception with those who think they can prey on senior citizens. I think it was a timely post for the times we are living in.
We also have always lived in an ultra safe place, however, it is foolhardy to trust everyone nowadays. Better safe than sorry. An interrupted burglary could have dire conseuquences. The landscaping story made me think they were very suspicious characters. One thing about living in a smaller community is that your landscapers or lawn mowing maintenance guys are children of people you know, not strangers. Ditto for cleaning crews or whatever.
Up here we no longer open the door at all for solicitors, religious pamphlet people, insurance pedlers, tree surgeons or you name it...if we do not recognize them or have not invited them. And we do not live in a crime ridden state.
Murder is rare, but it does happen and when it does, it strikes home. Back in the 1980's while my husband was away for a weekend at deer hunting camp, my mailman warned me to keep all my doors and windows locked tight as there had been a murder at a gas station on the edge of town whereby a teen was shot dead during a robbery. They have never found the murderer.........probably someone passing through........however, at the time, it never crossed my mind to think our mailman was passing on an urban legend. I believed him and called all my neighbors as well. Better safe than sorry.
What I don't understand is why no one believes anyone? Most people are smart enough not to spread urban legends..........or I would hope so. Maybe I live in a bubble of trusting people "at their word".