Rotary Engine <rotaryeng@earthlink.net> wrote:

Robin took her cousin Peggy to Paris on her UAL
friends and family pass this week. Peggy had never been to Europe
before. A pick pocket got Peggy's distinctive red wallet
out of her purse. Peggy and Robin were riding public
transportation and Peggy saw her wallet being looked
through by a person. She went over  to thank
the person (pick pocket? :)) for finding her wallet and hugged the
person. It is unlikely the pick pocket understood English and what
was happening. Peggy got her wallet back with all the CC's and drivers
license but the money was gone :) Talk about luck. Robin called me today
from Frankfurt and told me about it.

I have to tell you I was stupid about pick pockets in Paris.
I was unloading my rental car years ago  and I put my camera bag on top
of the car while I was getting my girlfriend's bags out
of the trunk. Some young punk came up and grabbed the bag and ran off about
half a block with me chasing him. He jumped on a friends motor
cycle with the engine running and raced off. If I had been a bit
faster runner I could have dumped both of them on their ass
and beat them both to a pulp. Lost $2000 cash, passport, Nikon camera the
works. The French police could care less.

Paris and Rome are the worst cities in the world I have been in
for pick pockets with the possible exception of Rio.

Paul Lamar

I guess with the problems in Europe it will only get worse, my wife Llewella
(Welsh you know) had hers pinched at Versailles in Paris - money gone but
she also got it back.
I got done in Florence by a couple of Gypsy girls - one with a baby in her
arms, she appeared to be giving me credit for the child calling me "Papa".
She had me distracted enough to get my wallet from my zipped up inside
jacket pocket. I missed it a few minutes later and we reported it to the
police, then ran into them on the street. Llewella was pretty mad and
started beating her up, she was very anxious to hand back my wallet - money
and all to get Llewella off her!
There's got to be a moral there somewhere:)

John Evans