LETTERS: MICKEY MOUSE LADY STILL SUFFERING

To the editor:

Several weeks ago most of your readers will recall the headlines: Mickey Mouse robbers caught.

Everywhere I go, people say they are so glad the thieves were caught and that I got all my stuff back.

Well, I want to set the record straight. The robbers were not caught. Two 14-year-old boys were arrested, and all I got back was 20 Mickey Mouse watches out of my collection of 208. These were mostly musical watches purchased when they first came out at the cost of $80 each. The crystals were smashed with a hammer, and the hands were twisted off, rendering them absolutely worthless.

The man who called with the message on my answering machine to see if I was home and the girl with the purple lipstick who wrote all over my appliances are still out there. So are all my Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie stuff, my Mickey Mouse baseball mitt, Mickey Mouse computer, Mickey Mouse sterling silver necklace, Mickey Mouse rings, Mickey Mouse pins, my $5 gold piece, my 1929 silver dollar and an $850 Mickey Mouse doll.

The rugs, counter tops and my front door and storm door all had to be replaced. My insurance will pay for the material damages, but how can you replace a Mickey Mouse pocket knife from the Chicago World's Fair?

The two boys have been released, probably with a slap on the hand saying naughty, naughty, you shouldn't break into someone's house and practically destroy it. I did get a note from one of the boys (mandatory by the judge) saying he was sorry and asked me to forgive him. Never!

I still believe the boys were sent to destroy my house, turning the thermostat up to 100 degrees as a cover-up for the real robbers. Fourteen-year-old boys were not even born when the Steamboat Willie stuff came out, and they had no idea how valuable it was. And what 14-year-old boy carries a bottle of Clorox and a can of blue spray paint and a tube of purple lipstick with him?

I'm slowly trying to rebuild my collection with the help of loyal friends and even people I don't know.

I am still heartbroken and having a very hard time dealing with this.

JANE B. BARKS

The Mickey Mouse Lady

Cape Girardeau