Tropojan Security
Up until now, I’ve lived in New York, the land of crime and theft – both informal and professional. Accordingly, I find some things hilarious, in Albania. Alfred carries a huge bunch of keys, which lock doors all over the place — but when I look at the doors . . . . I could dismantle the whole locking mechanism in five minutes with a screwdriver, or probably a butterknife. Door plates are screwed in with normal phillips-head screws! When I pointed this out to Alfred, he looked a little embarrassed. “In fact,” he told me “There is not much theft here.” Oh? I asked. “No,” he said, “Because — in fact — if anyone steals something, everyone will know about it by the next day.” It’s true. Hey — Ismail has your television set! I can imagine it. (NB: I do not know anyone named ‘Ismail’).
Have you visited Valbona recently?
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I relate to this. I am a speech teacher in an inner-city public high school in Brooklyn. I lock my door every time I walk out of my office, even to go to the printer. Before I did this, I had things stolen from my room. There is something terribly wrong with locking your door to walk 20 feet away and then back, I tell myself every day. But then again, it’s necessary. It’s just too bad. I long for a place where this is not necessary.