Robbed of ribbons
Someone stole Marcella Core’s magnetic ribbons. Swiped them right off her parked car. The magnets have little material value: a few dollars at the most. But what they symbolize meant the world to Mrs. Core. It was her small, but not insignificant, way of showing support for her son, a Marine serving in Iraq. Magnetic ribbons are cheap and plentiful in the stores, and Mrs. Core said she has already bought new ones. But that isn’t the point. The ones her car sported were specially selected; one a gift from her niece in Ohio. Mostly they symbolized that she was thinking about her son, John, praying for his safe return and for those of all the other American soldiers serving in Iraq.
Could they hold the same meaning for the thief? It’s doubtful that they were stolen because a patriotic soul couldn’t afford his own.
So why take someone’s magnets?
If it were a simple adolescent prank, perhaps the culprit might have learned by now that even little things mean much to some people.
It wouldn’t hurt for Mrs. Core to discover some morning when she goes out to get in her car that the ribbons have just as mysteriously reappeared.