10/11/2009

How my faith in humanity was destroyed and restored.

Well, if I wasn't extremely cynical to begin with, the title might have a greater degree of truth.

In short, I was mugged.

About ten days ago, I was walking back from Highbury Corner, admiring the beautiful old houses with a certain degree of jealousy and appreciating the grandeur of the huge, old oak trees with their almost leaf-less limbs, and slipping into a semi-automatic state of gothic reverie... In other words, I was probably too unaware of my surroundings. But, I was on a well-lit street which a bus goes down, and there were other people around. I certainly didn't expect this to be the kind of place I have my pockets emptied and my bag snatched... but appearances, clearly, can be deceptive. Maybe my gothic mood was portentous.

I'd rather not discuss the actual mugging, suffice to say I was initially very shaken and subsequently massively annoyed at the huge inconvenience of having no cards, phone, access to money, ID, etc, etc.

My parents received a letter addressed to me from my local police station saying they had found something that belonged to me. How? It was this that made me realise that the police had my drivers' license, obtained when I still lived at home. This morning I went in to collect it and found they also had my bag (catch broken my the ignorant fools who stole it and mistook it for a lock), scarf, book, sunglasses and, most shockingly of all, all my (now cancelled cards). In fact everything, other than my phone and gloves. I shudder to think what they'll use the gloves for. But the fact someone even found my bag and handed it in... and that the thieves were decent enough to leave the stuff I actually needed... I don't know. I just feel as though deep down, there are a lot of people that aren't that bad.

And I'm happier for it.

(I just want my bank cards.)