Bluebird Gardens honor system takes a hit when thieves visit

Published 12:00am Thursday, September 7, 2006
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&8220;It was based on my liberal belief that when you trust people, they will rise up and do what you expect,&8221; Boen said. But Boen&8217;s faith in humankind was shaken when it was brought to his attention that a family seemed to be stealing daily from his stands. He estimates he lost more than $2,000 as a result. &8220;Customers started calling me about it in July. The children (a boy and a girl) would run back and forth filling up the van. The mother would fill bags and then she would tap the box like she was paying. But people could tell she wasn&8217;t. The father just waited in the van.&8221; By happenstance, Boen had the opportunity to confront the family on Friday. He was at the stand near K-mart when they appeared. &8220;The mother went to tap the box like she was going to pay and I blocked her and asked her what she was doing. She denied (they were stealing). She wasn&8217;t even close to acting repentant. She wasn&8217;t humbled at all by being caught. I don&8217;t know why I didn&8217;t call the police right there. I figured we had their license plate number and we&8217;d let the police know. But it turned out to be the wrong plate number. I know they haven&8217;t been back since because there&8217;s stuff left at the end of the day now.&8221; While it hurts to think that people could do such a thing, Boen found it heartwarming that people were incensed over the deed and cared enough to inform him. &8220;Our good customers aren&8217;t going to stand for that. That&8217;s why we started self-serve, because people are basically good. The people of Fergus Falls are the salt of the earth.&8221; The toll this experience has taken on Boen&8217;s viewpoint of people is hardest for him to accept. &8220;While I was picking in that recent miserable rain, my only vision was of that family, and it made me angry. Usually, I visualize our good customers … I&8217;m a liberal. I like everybody. I thought I was strong enough to take something like this, but it made me angry. I don&8217;t like being angry.&8221; Boen refuses to let his heart become as black and scarred as his hands. While the thiefs will likely never face legal punishment for this deed, Boen finds comfort in his belief, &8220;What you give out in life comes back.&8221;

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