A Crook with Class

	Now a days, when one finds someone they respect, they find out 
they're on drugs or they're wife-beaters and such. So I've turned to someone
beyond reality. Whether one wishes to believe in Santa Claus or not, no one
should care. So no one should care if I believe in the criminal genius, 
Carmen Sandiego. In order to grasp what I'm trying to express, the audience 
should understand that there is an exceptional animated series about Carmen 
that displays her characteristics beautifully. Characteristics I never knew 
existed until I tuned in one morning by accident. Her personality blew me 
away. This is why I love a criminal.

	What first attracted me to her was her attitude. The first time I 
saw her, I fully expected the mocking, vengeful person I grew up with on 
PBS's original show. But instead of a typical villain, I found a powerful, 
graceful figure who was always smiling a self assured smile and treated her 
competitors such as detectives and police, like intellectuals.

	Also if his or her life was in danger, and there was no way out, she
would turn around and save them, regardless of the fact that they are trying
to arrest her. Criminal mind but good heart. She also never goes off in a 
rage or hysterics. Always calm and placid is Carmen. No matter what happens, 
Carmen has beautiful control over herself when someone annoys her but doesn't
put on airs. She doesn't have an evil nature either which makes it all the 
more enjoyable for detectives and henchmen alike. So in short, Carmen has no
desire to fight. She'd much rather run. It's more fun.

	It's in this sense that she can choose her own path, her own fate, 
that makes her more powerful. She more or less controls the "game". The game
is an upscale version of cops and robbers, hide and seek, tag, and clue mixed
into one. She calls it, "Try and catch me". Carmen weaves a web of crimes and
thefts that all link together to form a common underlying theme. She leaves 
her own clues for if she didn't, no one would come close to catching her and
that wouldn't be any fun at all. Detectives may sometimes think they are too
smart for the sultana of swipe but she always reminds them, "You don't have a
clue detectives,...until I give you one". And she's clever enough for that to
be 98% true. The other two percent is when she involuntarily leaves a clue 
but that rarely happens. That's why she's been going strong for ten years.
 
	Her power also shows in how she organizes her henchmen followers. 
There is always order under her lead which is surprising. It is very rare 
that one will see a woman take such a high position and not get any backtalk
whatsoever. And one think she would with most of her workhands being men. 
But the archcriminal has left such a exceptional impression in them that 
many, if not all of them, are most honored to work by her. But if someone
decides that he doesn't want to follow Carmen's few instructions and goes 
and commits a crime on his or her own, chances are without Carmen's rational
planning, he or she will be caught easily. Carmen's punishment? She simply 
won't break them out. If one followed her instructions yet still ended up in
jail, she will come back for him. Carmen cares for her employees and hardly 
ever isolates herself from them when it comes to contacts. But when she works
alone, she works alone. Carmen also doesn't sit behind a desk in some dark 
room somewhere and lets her henchmen have all the fun. Carmen is almost 
always there to be identified when her organization steals an item and is 
always active and lively in her actions.

	What has set Carmen in the center of the criminal world is her great 
wisdom. That doesn't just mean she has a high IQ (which she does) but also 
considerable amounts of common sense. Confucius once said that "When you say
you know when you know and say that you don't when you don't, that is true 
knowledge." That applies here. She will readily admit when she's been 
defeated or is not sure of something. She would much rather learn from her 
mistakes than keep repeating them. This is also why Carmen has hired so many
people. Each henchman or henchwoman has his or her own special talent. 
Certain combinations of talents will work well for one heist and others will
work well at different assignments. The ingenious Carmen is a master at 
organized crime and her planning is so skillful that even the detectives 
admit it.

	But she is far from perfect and she knows it. That's why she has 
dedicated herself and her life to learning as much and doing as much as she 
can in one lifetime. Her knowledge is very broad and far reaching on account
of her incredible criminal and detective experiences. Her ability to plan 
these classic crimes time after time and never become arrested is truly 
something extraordinary. She executes them so beautifully. And loves every 
minute of it.

	Thus I end my exaltation of the woman I respect and truly admire. 
Though simply a character and criminal all the same, I have made her my 
mentor. I hope that someday I will be able to look at the world in her 
perspective and live life to the fullest. If I live by her words of wisdom, 
I'll go far. I'm sure there's got to be someone out there like her. We'll 
find each other, Carmen Sandiego, then you can teach me about life.	
				By Anita Knipping
					a.k.a.  Kid Kidman  V.a #200309

"Think out your plan
Like a woman of action
Then act out your plan
Like a woman of thought"
						-Carmen Sandiego