Theft is theft
It could have been a situation right out of the very movie it portrayed – “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” where anything that can go wrong on Christmas will go wrong. Dan Hartman of Bethel Park woke very early the morning of Christmas Eve only to find that his life-size mannequin of Cousin Eddie, a character from the movie, had been stolen – right outside of his RV.
“Christmas Vacation” has become the subject of fodder in the years since its release – from families going way overboard on tacky light displays to tributes to Cousin Eddie and his sewage-filled RV. No doubt a Jelly of the Month Club membership or two have been gifted as a result of the movie. It’s a fun, light-hearted take on the holiday season – in Hartman’s case, for example, folks stopped to take photos of and with Cousin Eddie, and there was even a fender bender as a result of gawking passersby.
Unfortunately, someone felt that they needed Cousin Eddie with them at Christmas more so than Hartman. “It’s just a shame someone would have to steal a Christmas display on Christmas Eve,” Hartman said.
Theft is theft, regardless of what is being taken. It is illegal. Stealing baby Jesus from a creche is no different than kidnapping Cousin Eddie from a front yard.
Crafting Cousin Eddie – clad in his pink robe, beer can in hand and septic system hose – took time, and it took effort. We are guessing that whoever took the mannequin did so as a prank, but that doesn’t make it any less wrong. The lack of respect for other people’s property – or feelings for that matter – is shameful.
Christmas has come and gone, and as of press time, Cousin Eddie has not been returned. To those who took him, we advise a New Year’s resolution of not only giving up petty theft, but of learning civility as well.