THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022 - NATIONAL CHRISTMAS LIGHTS DAY

 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022 - WELCOME TO DECEMBER

It’s the first day of the last month of the year.  Twenty-four days until Christmas, 30 days until New Year’s Eve; 31 days until 2023.  

And, it is:

National Christmas Lights Day

From: https://www.christmas-light-source.com/pages/history-of-christmas-lights 

“Christmas lights actually started out just as candles. These candles were attached to the tree using wax or pins. The practice began in Germany during the 17th century and over the next 200 or so years; it became an established practice in Germany and began to spread out into other countries of Eastern Europe.”

Karen comments:  With Christmas coming just a few days after the Winter Solstice, and with the message of a savior born and that this savior was the “light of the world”.  John 8:12 says, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”,

(Back to the article):

“The practice was originally started to bring illumination to the ornaments that were placed on the tree. This practice continued until around 1900 when candleholders became popular and people started to use them instead of wax or pins to hold the candles to the trees. The purpose, however, stayed the same. It was to illuminate and make those beautiful works of art that decorated the tree become even more visible.

 

Karen comments: Attaching candles to evergreen trees, although pretty, was also dangerous.  Dry trees could go “poof” up in flames - so people who wanted to celebrate Christmas indoors had buckets of water to quickly douse fires.  

 

(Back to the article)
“It was not until around 1915 that glass balls and lanterns were also used replacing the candles on trees as the main form of illuminating and providing glittering beauty to these wonderful symbols of Christmas with the masses. The world of Christmas lights really became something amazing with the invention of the light bulb and electricity. In 1882, the first Christmas tree to be lit by electric lights was seen in New York. It was lit by Edward Johnson who happened to be a friend (and partner) of Thomas Edison. The Christmas tree was lit with beautiful red, white, and blue lights, which are still the favorites of many today. It also led to the creation of the first string of Christmas lights, which were easily mass-produced and were available for sale around 1890. This of course was the start of the wonderful traditions we have today of placing strings of Christmas lights around our trees and homes to liven the holiday.

“The first White House Christmas tree to have electric lights was seen in 1895 and lit by President Cleveland.

“The first sets of sting lights were too expensive for the majority of people to afford but by 1900, many department stores were using Christmas lights to liven up their holiday displays and attract customers. The American Eveready company produced the first Christmas light set however in 1903.

 

“The first sets were expensive $12 for 24 lights which in today's money would be about $80.00, too expensive for the masses, however, a wonderful idea was struck and Christmas lights became available for rent at a much cheaper price allowing them to be used by everyone to liven up the holiday displays in homes and businesses. These lights were created by GE. They came in seven colors, clear, frosted, green, blue, purple, ruby, and opal.

*****

I remember as a child helping put the lights on our Christmas tree.  I discovered that some light sets were such that if one light went out, all lights went out, and other light sets were such that if one light went out, the rest would still work!  Those were “serial” or “parallel” light sets.

Serial-wired light strings cannot be cut and if one bulb is removed the rest of the string will go out. (Note - if the bulb is removed.  Burnout bulbs can be left in the string - but it is best to replace the burned-out bulbs to keep the electrical current.

Parallel wired lights can be cut and terminated to fit and if one bulb is unscrewed and removed, the rest will stay lit. (Bulbs that have threaded bases are a clue you are working with lights that are wired in parallel.).

Modern Christmas light sets are generally a combination of serial and parallel circuits.  Let’s say you have a light strand of 200 bulbs - with 20 bulbs to a section (or 10 sections for the entire strand).  You might have one section out and 9 sections working.  So in the section that is out, it is serial - and one bulb might be missing. 

Karen's comment - be very careful in putting light sets away.  Make sure all the bulbs work on a set as you wrap them up on a paper towel (or toilet paper) core.  Next year as you get the lights out again, check that they still work.  

And, it seems as if squirrels like chewing on light sets and thus damaging the whole set.  (A HOA - Home Owners Association that I know of had lights on their swimming pool building - and after a week they noticed it wasn’t working and when checking it out, noticed that squirrels had gnawed the wiring!!)

Christmas lights do add a positive spin on dark nights - and many communities sponsor Christmas light contests.  (Some are sponsored by electric utilities - so they give out a prize to individuals for their display - but homeowners around the community are paying for increased electrical usage!!!)

Do celebrate the Holiday season with lights and decorations.  Even though I’m in an apartment, I have a small Christmas light display!!!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, © DECEMBER 1, 2022

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 - WALKING CONTINUED

 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 - WALKING CONTINUED

A few more comments.

First - something I don’t do well - is stretching before I walk.  Of course, when I walk from my living area to the bathroom, I don’t stretch, when I walk to the mailbox I don’t stretch.

But, if I am going to be walking for a half-hour or longer, I need to stretch.  I really need to stretch even if I’m not walking. 

*****

PARALLEL THOUGHT

In the first hour of the morning, I do a lot of sitting and thinking, and praying.  I do my daily scripture readings, I do the daily Wordle, a daily crossword, and a Duolingo German lesson,.  I check my Email, Facebook, and Twitter feeds.  In effect, I am “stretching” my brain for the new day.  

*****

So, I warm up my brain in the morning, so I should also warm up my body before walking.  

When I play Granny Basketball, I generally stretch my hamstrings, do some upper body stretches, do toe touches (okay, ankle touches), and circle my arms.  I need to remind myself to stretch and loosen up before walking.

COMPANY

Monday night I walked at the Georgetown Recreation Center.  It has a track that looks down on a large basketball court.  I don’t always use the rec center.  I have to get in my car and drive about 10 minutes to get there.  Then park and go in.  My other options are (a) use the exercise room in my apartment complex - there are two treadmills there and a television that I can control what I watch, and (b) walk outside.  

The last two are basically free - no gas in the car - go and walk.  But, I went to the Rec Center to see people.  It was Monday night and I thought that Claudia would be there for her bicycle class, and Janet would be there for her aerobics class.  

I don’t even know Claudia’s last name - but she’s a friend.  When she saw me Monday night she wasn’t on her stationary bike yet and she gave me a BIG hug.  For some unknown reason, Claudia and I are buddies.  She is in her 30s or 40s and a super athlete.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she is in an “Iron Man” aerobics class and she puts the otters to shame as She lifts the most weight, runs the fastest, does the most situps and pushups, and does other activities. Why she should be a friend of a 75-year-old transgender woman?  I don’t know.  

I do know Janet’s last name - but like Claudia, when we see each other we hug each other.  Her class started half an hour after Claudia’s class so we walked together around the track.  It wasn’t a big deal - we talked about our Thanksgiving and food.  But, we’re friends.  I also don’t know why we are friends, but we are.

Most times I’m at the Rec Center there are people I know - and I say hi and/or give them a hug.  I get my endorphins going from seeing friends that I like and who like me.  That doesn’t happen in the apartment exercise room or in my neighborhood.  Many times I don’t know the people's names and they don’t know my name, but - hey - we’re friends getting a good workout.  There is John and Marie - John has Parkinson’s Disease and Marie is so agile and so loving that she makes sure John gets out and keeps his body moving.  There is Mary, and we sometimes can get into a discussion about teaching (she is a teacher).  I talk to the older couple where the lady is serious about her walking and her husband is laid back and we talk for a lab or two.  

It is good for me as a single person to get out into the community and greet people and let them greet me.  Socialization is a part of the Rec Center.  The experts talk about a “happy heart” - and that can be because of the exercise - but I think happy hearts (and thus healthier hearts) also come from being with people I like and that like me.  

Ruth is another friend that I walk with.  She and I walk outside.  There are some really nice walking trails in Georgetown and we can walk and talk, and smell the environment.  

*****

In terms of exercise, all three - Rec Center, Apartment Exercise Room, and Walking outside work well.  

The apartment is close and I don’t have to drive - and is indoors if it is cold or rainy.

Outside in my neighborhood is nice.  I don’t have to drive, I can start and end at my front door.  I can put on my headphones and enjoy some music while I walk.

Outside on a trail or in a park is lovely.  The scenery is generally nice, and the paths are generally paved.  

At the Georgetown Recreation Center, it is nice, indoors, with locker rooms, restrooms, lots of equipment, and things to watch (I like looking down from the walking track and seeing basketball games, or volleyball games).

All are good - and all are even better when I use them!!!

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, © NOVEMBER 30, 2022

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022 - WALKING PART II

 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022 - WALKING PART II

Yesterday I wrote about walking from an article about The Truths about Walking

https://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/walking-workouts-myths-and-facts-to-know

I wanted to add some comments today.  

First - I am competitive.  I like to push myself to be better.  My daughter talked about using an app called “Map My Ride” when she rode her bicycle.  There is a parallel app called “Map My Walk”.  

The first competition for me was to get to 1022 kilometers this year.  (I think it would be expecting too much to get to 2022 kilometers - and definitely expecting a lot to get to 2022 miles.  (A kilometer is about 60% of a mile).  I reached that yearly goal on June 13, 2022 (WOOO!!)

This app keeps track of my walks.  Currently, I am numbering 3,951 out of 168,188 people which puts me in the top 2.4% of all the people using the app.  So, I get to celebrate that I’ve walked more than 97.6% of the people using the app. (So, some people don’t record their walks every day like I do).

This “Map My Walk” app is sponsored by UnderArmour - and I can start the app when I start to walk.

BUT - the app only works when I remember to turn it on.  (It does have some good statistics like split quarter miles, elevation, and more).  

Three years ago I was ready to get a Fitbit (or comparable) device.  That would keep track of all of my steps as long as I had the device on my wrist.  I actually had ordered one online and was picking it up after a music rehearsal - and they didn’t have one in stock.

I bemoaned that situation to a friend who said “Gee, you have a built-in app on your iPhone.  HUH?  But, yes, I do have the health application on my iPhone.  (I guess that Android phones have something similar).  Not only does this built-in app keep track of my steps (as I write, I’m at 1, 242 steps but it also gives me additional data). It tells me if I am walking “asymmetry/balanced” - that is, am I relying more on my left foot or right foot - or am I limping?

The minor hassle is that I need to take the data from my Health app and import it to the Map My Walk map.  

*****

And, a second feature.  The Health app also compares my walking with last year and last month. I get messages like “You are walking more this year than last year”, or “You are walking less this month than last month.  

*****

So, back to the Map My Walk app.  . Yes, I like being at 2.4% - meaning I’m doing a lot of walking as compared to others.  I’m doing better than 97% of other users (which makes me feel good.)  Now such comparisons are maybe a little bogus.  Some people might not get so avid about recording their steps or don’t always carry their phone while they walk and exercise.  

And, last year, I was in the top 4% of all users and this year I’m in the top 2.4% of all users.

*****

My next comment is insurance related.  At age 75, I am on America’s version of social medicine (aka “Medicare”).  And, the Medicare Advantage programs vary by location.  My current plan pays me $10 on a gift card if I reach 7,500 steps for ten days.  I haven’t spent any more on that card - which is a Visa card - and I have $50 on the card for five months meeting my goal.  And, before you think that I must have missed a few months, the program started in June - so I’ve reached my goal for June, July, August, September, and October - and I have walked 7,500 steps about 19 days out of 27 so far this month, so I’ll have $60 on that reloadable card soon.  

In some respects, my competitive brain likes that I’m in the top 2.4% on the Map my Walk app; my competitive brain likes that I’m earning $10 a month.  (In today’s world, $10 in a month isn’t much, but for somebody whose first real job paid 75 cents an hour, $10 is still real to me.  (And, no, $10 will cover filling my gas tank).

*****

So - walking - yes, I feel healthy (see yesterday), I do it regularly, and I’m keeping track (or, rather, my iPhone is keeping track for me), and I’m in the top 2.4% of users of the Map My Walk app and that I’m making $10 a month by reaching ten days of walking at least 7,500 steps.  

So, as a senior person, I’m happy that I’m fit and active. 

A recent (September 2022) CNN article says, “People between the ages of 40 and 79 who took 9,826 steps per day were 50% less likely to develop dementia within seven years, the study found. Furthermore, people who walked with “purpose” – at a pace over 40 steps a minute – were able to cut their risk of dementia by 57% with just 6,315 steps a day.” 

So, I cut my dementia risks by staying active.  

I guess walking is a WIN/WIN/WIN for me - fit, less likely to have dementia, making some money, and being competitive.

Hopefully, some of you will challenge me next year!!!

LOVE WINS / LOVE TRANSFORMS
WALK WINS / WALKING TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, © NOVEMBER 29, 2022

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022 - WALKING

 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022 - WALKING

I like to walk. It is one of my favorite exercises. I don't think sitting on the sofa and watching televised sports is exercise. There are times I've done some jumping for exercise - like jumping on the bandwagon, jumping for joy.

I walk most days - with a goal of at least 8,000 steps or more.  (I have downsized my goals from 10,000 steps - ouch!!)

I came upon an article The Truth About Walking Workouts: 7 Myths and Facts | Everyday Health that gave some additional information about walking.

Myth 1: 10,000 steps is the goal
One of the myths was that 10,000 was the ideal goal.  The article said, “Many people use 10,000 steps as a benchmark for a daily goal, but this number actually originated as part of a marketing campaign”.

The data suggests that more is generally better than less, up to 10,000 daily steps, at which point the benefit leveled off.  But, walking only 4,000 steps has significantly less benefit than 8,000 steps - and walking 4,000 steps is significantly better than zero steps!!!

I have a goal of 8,000 steps (more on that tomorrow). For me, that is about four miles (about 2,000 steps per mile).  On average days that takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes (walking at a pace of 20 minutes per mile.  That can apply to walking at the grocery store, walking to the mailbox, or intentional walking (treadmill or neighborhood).  I use my phone to track my steps (more on that tomorrow as well). I imagine that if I tracked my steps in my apartment, I’d be higher (walking to the kitchen or bathroom).

Fact 2:  Walking is healthy in terms of colds.

People who walk tend to experience fewer colds because mild exercise stimulates your immune system

The study showed that even by partaking in moderate exercise for 20 minutes at least one day a week, you are less likely to get sick.  When walking, or exercising, you are increasing your heart rate and blood flow, which increases the circulation of immune cells in the body

I have bought into the concept of walking is healthy.  I don’t know if my colds are fewer or less intense

Myth 3: Walking can cure depression and anxiety

Most exercise is associated with mental health benefits, but in most cases, no single exercise, like walking, can by itself cure a clinical disorder.  And the increased blood flow in the brain produces more endorphins. It can help us reset, recharge and refocus.  

For me, my daily walk does (generally) revitalize me - and I am in a better mood (generally) after I walk.

Myth 4: Running is better than walking

Not always.  Walking is a low-impact exercise that offers benefits such as promoting endorphin release, increasing blood flow to the body and the brain, and improving bone health, without exerting extra strain on your joints,

For my younger friends, it seems like so many of my older friends are getting knee replacements - if it is “bone on bone”.  Running can irritate the knees more than walking.  

For a while, I wore a knee brace which seemed to help.  I also had some pains when climbing stairs - so I avoided most stairs.  About two months ago I took that off and it has been reasonable but I have avoided overdoing it!

But, running should burn more calories if you cover the same distance.  I sometimes use a treadmill in my apartment complex and somebody will use the one next to me - and run a mile while I’m walking three miles.  

Myth 5: You shouldn’t walk every day.

There are some discussions on this.  Walking is low impact so walking every day is good.  If you are doing more “power walking” (or HIIT - High-Intensity Interval Training), it might be good to take a day off for another activity.

Indirectly I walk every day, but I don’t always get my 8,000 steps - mostly because I don’t have the time that particular day.

Fact 6:  You need to walk faster to burn more calories

Yup - try pushing the tempo occasionally.  If one of your goals is to lose weight as well as stay fit, then you will need to either walk faster or walk longer (or both).  

I generally don’t like the treadmill (the view doesn’t change, and I don’t swing my arms), but I can set the pace to be faster and push myself harder.  I probably wouldn’t do that walking in my neighborhood.

Myth 7:  You need to walk 30 continuous minutes at a time. 

You can spread it out.  I try to get at least 20 minutes at one time (or about one mile for me). When I do my laundry at the apartment laundry room, I have 30 minutes while the clothes are washing - and that is a good time to get 25 minutes of walking; then I have 45 minutes while the clothes are drying.

*****

OKAY - we get the message:  Walking is normal, walking is good; walking almost every day; walking faster burns calories; you don’t have to be proficient - just do it.

Tomorrow - more on walking.

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE ©, NOVEMBER 28, 2022

SUNDAY FUNDAY - NOVEMBER 27, 2022

 SUNDAY FUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022

We have just finished Thanksgiving.  Let’s have one last Thanksgiving blog post.

*****

A TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING HYMN

Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home;

all is safely gathered in,

ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide

for our wants to be supplied;

come to God's own temple, come,

raise the song of harvest home.

*****

SOME PUMPKIN FACTS:

The word ‘pumpkin’ comes from the Greek word, pepon, which means a “large melon.”

Pumpkins originated in Central America.

Pumpkins are actually a fruit. Many people think it should be our national fruit.

Pumpkin is also a squash; a member of Curcurbita family.

The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on the pumpkin vine are edible.

Pumpkin seeds taste great roasted and contain medicinal properties.

Native Americans grew and ate pumpkins and their seeds long before the Pilgrims reached this continent. Pilgrims learned how to grow and prepare pumpkins from the Native Americans.

Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in 1621.

The earliest pumpkin pie made in America was quite different from the pumpkin pie we enjoy today. Pilgrims and early settlers made pumpkin pie by hollowing out a pumpkin, filling the shell with milk, honey, and spices, and baking it.

Early settlers dried pumpkin shells, cut them into strips, and wove them into mats.

Pumpkin has been prepared in a variety of ways from soups to stews to desserts since the immigration of the first European settlers.

The ‘Pumpkin Capital of the World’ is Morton, Illinois. Home of Libby’s pumpkin industry.

The state of Illinois grows the most pumpkins. It harvests about 12,300 acres of pumpkins annually.

The latest U.S. record (2022) for the largest pumpkin ever grown weighed in at 2,560 pounds by Travis Gienger from Anoka Minnesota

Pumpkins were once considered a remedy for freckles and snakebites.

Natural medicine practitioners have proven that consuming pumpkin seeds reduces the risk of prostate disorders in men.

*****
TURKEYS

The price of a whole 16-pound turkey in the United States was expected to reach 24.69 U.S. dollars in the week before Thanksgiving in 2022. This marks the highest retail price for a whole turkey in over a decade. In 2018, a turkey only cost 13.46 U.S. dollars in the week before Thanksgiving.

The survey statistics are based on an independent survey of 2,760 American residents.

83% of people plan to eat turkey on Thanksgiving. This is down from 88% last year (that’s a 5.7% decrease)The average price of turkey per pound is $1.53. This is up 12.5% compared to last year’s price of $1.36 per pound.

74% of people prefer to have a second protein on the table (65% also want ham. 28% also want chicken, and 7% also want either roast beef or steak.)

62% of people said mashed potatoes were their favorite side, which made it the most popular  (WHAT - it isn’t green bean casserole!!!)

And, something to remember - It isn’t what you eat between Thanksgiving and New Year that makes you fat, it is what you eat between New Year and Thanksgiving that makes you fat!!!
*****
WRAP-UP

Thanksgiving is about “giving thanks”.  The Pilgrims were agrarian and gave thanks for a good harvest, and thanks to God for His blessings. 

May you and all those that you hold dear have a blessed Thanksgiving.
*****
Granny Basketball scrimmage against Waco on Tuesday, November 29th at 2:00 at the Georgetown Rec Center.


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2022 AT 3 PM
A Vintage Christmas - Free Holiday Concert
First United Methodist Church Round Rock, TX
A Christmas Scherzo, The Christmas Song, Skater's Waltz, The Huron Carol, Little Bolero Boy, White Christmas, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Sleigh Ride - and more!!!

LOVE TRANSFORMS
KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, NOVEMBER 27, 2022

SATURDAY STORY - NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Saturday Story 

Alyssa Bauer walked through the ladies' department for the fourth time.  She stopped to look at a Vera Wang top, again. She held it up against her body, again.  She held it up over her head to check the color, again - but that was to check out the security person’s location.  The security person was not in sight - good.  She hung the top back on the rod.  Her purse had jewelry, a Fitbit, and an iPhone charger.  They would bring her about $160 once she got outside the store.  Not bad for twenty minutes of shopping.  She passed again through the lingerie department and picked up a three-pack of panties after checking things out again.  That would get her through the checkout lane without suspicion.

She quietly steeled herself to go to the checkout.  There were two registers open, one had what looked like a part-time seasonal employee.  She almost smiled when she saw that seasonal employee yawn and check her watch.  

She put the panties on the counter and pulled out a credit card to pay.  She made some small talk about liking the color, paying for the panties, and heading to the door.  Twenty steps to the door, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen.  Her smile was still plastered on her face.  No security person yet.  

Alyssa had identified the floor walker within five minutes when she got to the Kohl's story in the Westdale Mall.  She was a slim lady, maybe in her 40s or 50s, with a boring hairdo, and almost non-descript clothes.  They never wore anything fashionable - that would be a giveaway, but the boring clothes screamed “SECURITY” louder than a brilliant orange dress with sequins. 

Ten, nine, eight - almost out the door.  She was through the inside door.  Six, five, four, three, two, and out the exterior door.  She crossed the parking lot and zigzagged her way next to a large super cab pickup truck.  She ducked down quickly as if picking up a coin on the pavement but was taking off her wig and stuffing it into her oversized purse.  Eventually, a quarter of a mile away, she reached her parking place between two extra large pickup trucks by the Home Depot.  She had seen the security camera by Kohls, but she was out of view of that one, and with her misdirection and extra steps felt she made it.

*****

Julia Meyers had seen Alyssa and had seen her pick up the jewelry, Fitbit, and iPhone charger. She was on the security cameras.  Julia was walking to the front door to stop Alyssa with her phone in hand to call the police.  But then an older lady had asked her where the restrooms were and in that briefest of interaction, Alyssa was out the door and gone.  

Julia did go out the door and looked for the shoplifter.  She didn’t know the name, so was thinking of her as Sheri Shoplifter.  But, Sheri (or whatever her name was), was gone.  She would be on the security videos - but Julia sensed that Sheri Shoplifter was a professional and would have parked a long way away and would have avoided cameras if possible.  

Julia had no idea if Sheri Shoplifter was working on her own, or working on specs for a manager.  The Fitbit and iPhone charger suggested maybe she was following some shoplifting list given to her.  The good shoplifters worked for the shadow agencies on a 50 percent commission.  The items that the shoplifter took would generally be small and yet valuable and could be shipped around the country easily.  

*****

An hour-and-one-half later, Alyssa was in her apartment in Waco Texas.  She grabbed a brown mailing envelope from her desk and put the Fitbit and charger in it.  She kept the jewelry for herself - at least for the time being.  She could pawn it off someplace down the line.   

*****

But Julia Meyers hadn’t been just twiddling her thumbs.  She started looking at the video footage within the store. Yes, Sheri Shoplifter, or whatever her name was had identified some of the security cameras but she had missed finding at least two cameras. Outside the store, she saw some of the movements of the girl.  But, in the past three years, the stores in the mall had worked together to give each other access to the parking lot cameras.  She watched as Sheri  Shoplifter weaved her way around the parking lot.  Julia saw the girl duck down and take off her wig.  By the time the girl got to her car, Julia had an excellent face print.  

There was a trial program between the National Association of Retail Stores and the FBI.  Julia submitted her face print image to the National Association of Retail Stores with a description of what was shoplifted.  The FBI had higher priorities in national crimes, but by that evening there was an hour when the various uploaded face prints were run against the FBI’s vast image database.  The facial recognition program was over 99% accurate.  The program worked even when Alyssa had the wig on.  

The information went back to the National Association of Retail Stores and the Texas Bureau of Investigation.  In addition, the application ran through other images that had been collected, and Alyssa Bauer was identified six more times with an estimated value of over 1,000.  That tripped the scale and started the process to stop Alyssa Bauer from her shoplifting spree.

*****

Over the next week, the Texas Bureau of Investigation assigned this case to Tim Daty.  Tim pulled the records together from the seven recorded incidences.  The estimation was that Alyssa probably hit maybe another ten stores that either didn’t get reported or recorded.  

The analysis suggested that Alyssa liked to pull her shoplifting trips on Thursdays in the morning.  She traveled to stores in Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, Grapevine, Plano, and other locations. The TBI asked the Waco Police to watch her car next Thursday.  True to her nature, she left her apartment at 7:45 a.m. The plain squad car tailed her until she got on Interstate 35 heading south.  She wasn’t a fugitive or even a true suspect, but the analysis suggested that she was headed on a shoplifting trip. Other surveillance cameras identified her as parking in the Barton Springs Shopping Center. Watching live in real time, Tim Daty saw Alyssa part her car over a mile away from the mall in a restaurant parking lot and meandered to a TJ Maxx, then to a Ross Dress Shop, and then to a Target Store. Tapping into the cameras at Target, he saw Alyssa pick up an iPad and an Apple Watch in the electronics department, and a small espresso machine.  Even with her large purse, she had to be careful not to overdo it with larger items.  Tim laughed to himself as he could hear the local security person who was watching Alyssa talking to an associate.  He had to break his communication silence to tell the local security person that the Texas Bureau of Investigation was taking over the case.  Outside the entrance were four undercover Texas Rangers ready to apprehend Alyssa after she exited the store.

*****

Alyssa was doing her regular scrutiny. There wasn’t a local security person watching her every move (or Alyssa didn’t see the local person) - but in living color, several people were watching her every move.  

Leaving the store, she was as casual as could be, not noticing the four Texas Rangers closing in on her.  

With a search warrant to check her purse and her person, a female agent opened Alyssa’s purse and found the iPad, iWatch, and espresso machine.  Alyssa knew enough to keep quiet as the agent read her her Miranda Rights.  

Meanwhile, another group of Texas Rangers with the Waco police were executing a search warrant on Alyssa’s apartment.  They found several items in the original packaging that seemed to be possible shoplifting items.  

*****

Epilogue

Alyssa was convicted of shoplifting and based on the video evidence she was required to pay full restitution - and was sentenced to two years in prison.  Julia Meyers did testify at the trial and Tim Daty gave the video evidence.

She was also required to undergo counseling.  Then she volunteered to do presentations to high students about shoplifting that would shorten her sentence.  

*****

Karen’s comments

Shoplifting adds about 10 to 18% to the retail cost of items.  Technology has helped.  

Shoplifting causes honest people to pay more.  

Love does win.  Crime also doesn’t pay.

Karen Anne White, © November 26, 2022