8 July 2011

So what does a klepto pack rat steal? Buddhist lit of course.

| johnboy
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pack rat haul

When I popped into Smiths Alternative Bookshop this afternoon to take a snap of Prue and her latest review subject they were very excited by their visit from Police yesterday.

Having got part way through the hoard of the Lyons pack rat the constabulary returned $5,000 worth of books to Smiths which now occupies a great pile all of its own (pictured).

It seems the Buddhist literature section had been particularly hard hit.

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No wonder Borders has gone out of business.

Fill your mind with compassion – Buddha.

Maybe this lady was looking for spiritual advice to try and help remedy what appears to be an uncontrollable and all consuming need to acquire books. Maybe they made her feel safe. Who knows? I’m glad the books were returned. I hope she is OK, hasn’t seen the title “Pack Rat”, is getting the help she needs and won’t end up in jail.

Shop lifting, I dunno, it’s weird. I’ve never felt the slightest desire to do it, although when I was a kid everyone used to dare each other to steal the loose lollies from that big round display in Woolworths in Civic. Who remembers that? On the corner, facing the merry-go-round. they had a big display of wrapped lollies you could fill a basket with, and buy by weight. It was a variety store. A few times I wanted to give it a go, but chickened out. Now it seems that scores of people are stealing huge amounts of stuff on a regular basis.

A friend worked at a local nursery, and reported that at the end of the day, they’d find plants had been ripped out of pots and presumably put in pockets, bags or strollers.

At first I (the owner of Smiths) felt like a business failure (again) but it seems that she had stolen thousands of books from every bookshop in Canberra and from all the libraries including the National Library – now that is a mental issue as well as high skills level matched by targets that are a high degree of difficulty.

Also, over the years we had watched her and asked her to leave the shop many many times but when someone is THAT good at being THAT bad there isn’t a lot you can do.

Please note we are now extra cautious and do indeed do strip searches of every customer who enters the shop. Most seem to like it, some don’t but they understand.

(More seriously we do hope the woman gets the right assistance with a problem that isn’t good for her or anyone else, and the police are very helpful for us businesses and also want her to get help. It seems our society still has the right values, no revenge or anger expressed by anyone, just concern for the woman and great wonderous joy at getting the books back!)

EvanJames said :

Probably because no one cared about it.

What an odd condition this hoarding thing is. Some people hoard cats (god knows why), others do it in a more acceptable way (they are Collectors, or Love Shoes), and others still just gather every bit of rubbish they can find and pack it into their homes. I’d love to know what drives it.

I can tell you more about collecting (Lawnmowers for me) but i keep it neat, and legal!

cant help you out with the garbage hording, and I’m not really a cat person!

EvanJames said :

What an odd condition this hoarding thing is. Some people hoard cats (god knows why), others do it in a more acceptable way (they are Collectors, or Love Shoes), and others still just gather every bit of rubbish they can find and pack it into their homes. I’d love to know what drives it.

Childhood poverty in at least 2 cases I know of.

EvanJames said :

Probably because no one cared about it.

What an odd condition this hoarding thing is. Some people hoard cats (god knows why), others do it in a more acceptable way (they are Collectors, or Love Shoes), and others still just gather every bit of rubbish they can find and pack it into their homes. I’d love to know what drives it.

It’s a form of OCD which manifests itself in varying ways – includes mannerisms such as sratching oneself, checking and rechecking locks, etc, etc, etc.

Very debilitating and very annoying for family and friends.

Doubtless it is the business’ fault for not having mandatory strip searches and padlocking the books behind cabinets.

*steps away from can of worms…it’s all icky”

Disinformation3:12 pm 08 Jul 11

damien haas said :

5 grand is a particularly large hit to a small business. I hope the thief visits the pokey for some time.

I hope that they get help actually. This is plainly an example of theft by reasons of mental health issues, not something motivated by the thought of profit.

Probably because no one cared about it.

What an odd condition this hoarding thing is. Some people hoard cats (god knows why), others do it in a more acceptable way (they are Collectors, or Love Shoes), and others still just gather every bit of rubbish they can find and pack it into their homes. I’d love to know what drives it.

5 grand is a particularly large hit to a small business. I hope the thief visits the pokey for some time.

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