Next time you consider getting mugged, don’t underestimate the silver lining. Friends rally round. And in my case it’s not just the rallying. People seem to understand how one mugging resonates with another. Obvious? Well not to everyone. I have good friends. That is the point.

As for the event itself–getting robbed in broad daylight at my front door–there are enduring lessons. And most are more or less practical. First, disabled people are not off-limits. I may have assumed that even among criminals, well mugging a guy in a wheelchair wasn’t exactly sporting. Forget it. Really. Also, my electronic front door needs some additional gear. Cameras. Motion-activated lights. The door is set in from the street, and I am temporarily invisible to passersby as I approach my door. We need to take measures.

An extra level of paranoia is entirely justified, even on this apparently affluent and benign hillside. Which may include watching for kids, no, anyone…lurking on stairs. My robbery was a team effort. One lookout. One thief.

And there is that other thing that has to do with living in troubled times. In a city, where people live closer together, those troubles are more apparent. Though actually, certainly statistically, rural America is more dangerous these days. There is lots to enjoy in city life. I keep discovering it. And it keeps expanding. Can I keep expanding? When I feel like retreating. That’s the challenge. And it seems almost structural, built into the aging experience. Fuck it, I say. I’m going downtown.