Pickpockets

    I’m not sure why I suddenly thought about this, but in some touristy places, you have to be careful of pickpockets.   Back in the 1990’s we traveled to Costa Rica to explore the wildlife and jungles.  We were safe enough in those areas, but in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital city, we did run into a couple of pickpockets.  

    Like most tourists in a new country, we were oblivious to such things.  I guess we stood out as obvious tourists, with our backpacks, cameras, and Tilley hats, so we were certainly a target.

    We first became aware of pickpockets, while waiting for a bus at the bus terminal.   It was a big open with buses parked around the perimeter and a lot of people standing around.  As we stood there waiting, a kindly man came over and told us that we should be careful because of the presence of pickpockets there.  We certainly thanked him for the information, and kept an eye out from then on.

    Later on our trip, we were walking through a crowded tourist area in San Jose.  I happened to notice two guys standing together looking at me.  They then joined the moving crowd, but seemed to be focused on me as they move in my direction.  As they got close, they separated so each was passing me on a different side.  One got really close to me, and I figured out what was happening.

    I swung out my hip toward the guy who was right next to me, bumping him away.  He turned and looked at me, and gave him a steely look right back.  The two of them then just walked on.  

    I was quite surprised at myself, for taking such an aggressive action.  I usually don’t think of myself as being an aggressive person, but I was glad I did in that instance.

    The most interesting thing I know concerning pickpockets, was something I read in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not paperback book I had as a kid.  It said that in the Parliament Building in England, they had been plagued by a pickpocket who they had been unable to catch.  A big reward was offered for his capture.

    It was a visiting farmer who caught him.  The farmer has sewn fish hooks into the inside of his pockets, and when the pickpocket’s hand slipped in and then pulled out, he was painfully hooked.

    I am not sure if the story was a “Believe” or a “Not,” but it was a pretty good story nevertheless. 

You can see my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca