Door Locks are for Honest People

I went out to my car this morning early this morning at 6:15.  I had plans to meet my running group at at 7, and I wanted to get in a couple of miles before starting with the group.  My hands were full of a peanut butter sandwich, some gatorade, a towel, and another shirt.  I put the stuff on top of my car and went to open the door.  Out of the corner of my eye I caught the figure of a guy sleeping in my back seat.

My first inclination was to roust him and tell him to get lost.  Fortunately, I thought better and called the police.  I realize most likely he was drunk from the night before and found a place to sleep it off.  However, he may still have been drunk from the 4AM last call and still a bit angry.  I did not need a confrontation or a potential fight with a knife or something worse.  The police came quickly and gave him a vagrancy ticket. 

He explained that he thought this was his friend's car.  He may have been that drunk, and he had a fat lip as a clue he was in a fight at some point.  Anyhow, he gestured to me an apology as they drove him to the train station.  I had no wish to press any charges.  He seemed to have honestly made an error in judgement.

Now to the title of this entry.  I am not sure why my door was unlocked, but my car was available to this guy.  I had my golf clubs in there and some money he could have stolen, but he was not a thief..just a drunk.  A real crook would have popped any lock and taken what he wanted.  This happened to me numerous time on the streets of New York many times in the 90s.  He was an honest drunk looking for a place to sleep it off.  He must have tried many cars before mine that were locked.  He got lucky with mine but unlucky that I was out the door before he was.