Robbing mourners

For once, I'm not going political. I'm not ranting against taxes (although I still think the idea that taxing insurance companies is going to lower insurance costs is absurd, to say the least, and inheritance taxes are, inherently, a cruel joke upon grieving family members).

This morning, I'm actually concerned with a news article over the weekend from the Quad Cities, in which a 66-year-old woman and her 40-year-old son were arrested for burglary. They read obituaries, and broke into the homes of widows while the families were out attending husbands' funerals.

I know this is nothing new, because, more than thirty years ago, some folks who lived in our neighborhood had their house robbed while they were bidding their final farewells to father. The thieves were fast and quiet, and nobody even realized what was going on until the family returned home to find the place ransacked and their precious heirlooms gone.

Other families have suffered similarly, over the years.

It seems to me, a smart funeral home director would consider offering a service to customers, in which a bonded employee could sit on security at the home of the mourner, as a guarantee against just such a violation. That way, nobody from among family and friends would be obliged to miss saying goodbye. I'm sure a creative businessman (or woman) could figure out a way to work the cost for such a service into other areas, so as to make it appear to be a free courtesy to the bereaved, and thus provide even greater comfort.

Not that I'm worried about my own house, in the event of my passing. Whoever steals from me, it's his own darned fault what he gets. But, come on! Grieving families deserve a little extra thought.