So, yesterday was Thanksgiving, here in the US of A.
I have always enjoyed this holiday because I love all the food, but also because we have chosen to make the tradition of more of a friends gathering than just family. As such, it has a "warmer" feel than a gathering of people who may only be present because they feel they "have to" be.
Anyways, we had a lovely meal and then played cards afterwards... and even though it was pretty exhausting to put it all together, it was well worth it.
Then — about half an hour after the last guest had left — we got a frantic call from one of our friends that she had lost her purse, and would I please go out and check the driveway and street parking to see if maybe it had fallen out of the car while they were leaving.
I didn't really mind a trip out into the cold night air after having eaten excessively... bat the excursion did not turn up the missing purse.
Thankfully, the purse did turn up when they got home, having fallen between the seat and a couple of boxes in the back seat. Something else to be thankful for.
The incident did make pause to reflect on how much of our identity we carry around in our wallets and handbags, and just how disruptive it can be when we lose these things.
We live in a (sadly) often dishonorable world where losing your identity almost invariably means theft and fraud ensues. Having been the victim of identity theft — via web sites, not via lost wallets — a couple of times, it is not only a hassle, but the ongoing hassle afterwards on "making good" on potential missed autopayments because a debit card or bank account was blocked for security reasons is... well... a pain in the ass.
Our friend who (temporarily) lost her purse also happened to have to be at an event at 9:00am this morning as a vendor of her crafts... without her ID and cards, even that would have been made quite difficult, meaning not only the lost of the purse, but partial loss of income.
Of course, we are deeply skeptical of such things as ID via retina scans or fingerprints because that exposes a different kind of risk of having our privacy invaded by Big Brother... but at least those things seem like they would be more difficult to steal.
But maybe that's just part of this whole rather sketchy trend in the world: The more clever and elaborate the security measures that are invented, the more sneaky and devious the criminals become... no matter how difficult theft might become, there will likely always be a criminal element more inclined to rob us than try to make a living through more legitimate means.
I can't imagine that people get into the fraud and theft business because it is "easy money," anymore...
As the years have passed, I have become more and more wary of identity theft, to the point of being very hesitant about letting even legitimate service providers have my personal information on a permanent basis (i.e. autopay), choosing instead to pay many things the old-fashioned way: by manual payment, as things come due.
But that makes life slow and difficult... and less than convenient.
Convenient.
Seems we have all been thoroughly sold on this idea that life is "supposed to be" convenient, at all times. I can't help but wonder whether these conveniences are really making our lives more convenient... sometimes it feels more like my life is more complicated than ever!
Well, not going to dwell excessively on it. I am very grateful that our friend did not end up losing her identity for Thanksgiving, albeit accidentally!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!
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Created at 2024.11.30 00:10 PST
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