I had been thinking in the car this morning and realized that all the break-ins have had a common thread: Maglite flashlights.

Allow me to back up and explain.

A couple of years ago, like an idiot I left a door unlocked on my car, which was parked on the street (at the time, we were living in a house bereft of driveway). In the morning, someone had opened it up, gone through things, and then run off. Nothing important was stolen, but the person in question stole a pair of $5 sunglasses and a Mini-Maglite flashlight out of the glove compartment.

A week and a half ago, when other people broke into our house, again things were rifled through, and this time nothing was stolen except for a costume piece and a regular-sized Maglite flashlight.

I wonder what’s so special about Maglites… I mean, they’re not particularly rare, they’re not particularly expensive, and aside from the big one (which you could use to club somebody with), they’re not much good aside from being decent flashlights. So why would somebody steal that and leave both TVs?

I am perplexed.