I can vouch for this because my wife was the victim of a purse-snatcher at a Provo grocery store during the holidays a couple years back. She had a wallet-style purse without a strap, and always kept a good grip on it. She was minding her own business looking at sale prices while working her way down an aisle with direct access to the exit doors. Suddenly a 20-something male in a hoodie and bright green sneakers ran up behind her and grabbed her wallet.

A tug-of-war ensued, and she wasn’t going to lose. During the struggle, the thought came to her that this must be one of our sons’ friends who was playing a joke on her. And so she finally relinquished the prize. The robber then bolted full-speed out the glass doors. We never did find the wallet, which, luckily, contained little cash, although it had everything else.

But the headache was only beginning. If you think store security is going to help catch a crook, guess again. There was a clear security photo of the creep, but they wouldn’t provide a copy to the editor of the local newspaper to publish. They wouldn’t give him a copy of the video, either, even though it showed the whole encounter and might have helped apprehend the thief.

(And just to be clear: I would have published this no matter whose wife it was.)

So anyway, after days — yes days — of wrangling with the store security moguls, a copy of the video was finally handed to Provo police, who were decidedly unenthusiastic about pursuing a small-time thief. Eventually, the crime got so old there really wasn’t much point, so I gave up. Sigh …

My advice for women who carry a purse while Christmas shopping is to hold it in one hand, while in the other carry a crowbar. For a festive touch, you might decorate the crowbar like a candy-cane.