The iPod Thief

Next time you're sitting on the subway and your iPod stops playing music, do NOT assume it's because your playlist has finished.

I've met many people who've had their iPods stolen but I've never personally seen an iPod Thief. But that all changed the other day while I was riding the 2 train uptown.

A group of young guys were all standing together on the train when one of the younger boys (not even peach fuzz on his face) asked if he could have an iPod. One of the other boys (16 years old, at the most) said sure and handed him an iPod out of his backpack. When the younger boy looked at the iPod his response was "Uh, no...not this one!"

Naturally, this response made me wonder how many iPods these kids could possibly have. So I looked up and saw the older boy open his backpack only to reveal that it was filled with dozens of iPods. After searching through the loot, the younger boy picked the one he was searching for and walked back down to the other end of the subway car.

My immediate reaction was to bury my iPod deep in my bag and clutch it for dear life. Even though clutching it probably made me seem like a more likely target.

- Claire