Dear Thief,

You came to mind today as I was looking for my favorite fall boots.  Then I realized, you have them.  I sometimes wonder what you’re now doing with all the stuff you stole from me last October in Rome.  You’d be a fool not to have eaten that block of aged parmigiano I had just bought.  And the boots?  Maybe you re-gifted them to your girlfriend.  As for all of the materials things, well, I can handle the loss.  But what really burns me up is the hard drive.

You probably tossed it in the trash when no million dollar bank account passwords were found.  And you probably didn’t even notice that thousands of photos and videos spanning seven years of life-changing travel and exploration were saved on it.  I think about that hard drive and kick myself for not backing it up.  And I kick myself every time I have to resort to my Facebook photos for an article (see above).  Kill me.

A few weeks ago in Rome I saw hundreds of white taxis that looked just like yours.  I thought, wouldn’t it be mad if I actually spotted you in the crowd, chased you down and demanded my stuff back?

Ha.  In a perfect world or Hollywood, maybe.  

No, I never found you and I won’t hold a grudge.  We all have our own motives for doing the things we do in life.  I’m a smarter traveller for it.  And now an avid photo backer-uper.  So thanks.  And enjoy the cheese.

Sincerely,

The girl who hailed your taxi and whose luggage you drove away with

xoxo