While We Were Out
I just learned that while we were out last night, our next-door neighbor was touring the inside of our house with a loaded pistol, cocked and ready. (Do you “cock” a pistol?)
Apparently, we had left the back door ever so slightly ajar and a rogue air current nudged it just enough to set off the eardrum-shriveling claxon of our burglar alarm. A signal was sent to the Central Command Center, which called my cell phone (turned off and therefore useless and not on my person anyway), and then called several friends of ours who have keys (none of whom were home). Somewhere within this cascade of events, our heat-packing neighbor heard the alarm and called 911.
Once the cop showed up, there was a reunion of sorts, because as it turns out, our neighbor helped train this cop when he was a rookie. Yep. Our neighbor is a retired cop. Hopefully, not too much time was wasted fondly recalling the golden days of their youth before the two heavily armed men addressed the matter at hand. They walked right in because both the security door and the back door were unlocked. Are we careless or what?
As my neighbor was telling me all about it this afternoon, the only thing I could think of was that when he entered the house it was in a state of maximum randomness (especially my office). It wasn't until later that it occurred to me that my neighbor and the cop had potentially risked their lives to protect our paltry possessions. Sure, nothing but a harmless breeze had broken in, and yeah, burglars are not usually armed and dangerous, but still. I have to say I’m pretty glad we live next door to a cop and a retired one at that—one who can spend his idle hours keeping an eye on our house.
He’s a good guy, even if we probably don’t see eye to eye on everything. I, for example, would not walk down my driveway carrying a naked shotgun when packing for a hunting trip (they do make storage or carrying cases for shotguns, don’t they?) Nor could I see myself going on a hunting trip. Or carving up a three-foot-long salmon (albeit fairly discreetly) on the front lawn.
Lessons: A) Be thankful for and appreciative of good neighbors. B) Remember to keep working on accepting people for who they are. C) Double-check that all security doors, regular doors, and windows are locked before leaving the ding-dong house!
Apparently, we had left the back door ever so slightly ajar and a rogue air current nudged it just enough to set off the eardrum-shriveling claxon of our burglar alarm. A signal was sent to the Central Command Center, which called my cell phone (turned off and therefore useless and not on my person anyway), and then called several friends of ours who have keys (none of whom were home). Somewhere within this cascade of events, our heat-packing neighbor heard the alarm and called 911.
Once the cop showed up, there was a reunion of sorts, because as it turns out, our neighbor helped train this cop when he was a rookie. Yep. Our neighbor is a retired cop. Hopefully, not too much time was wasted fondly recalling the golden days of their youth before the two heavily armed men addressed the matter at hand. They walked right in because both the security door and the back door were unlocked. Are we careless or what?
As my neighbor was telling me all about it this afternoon, the only thing I could think of was that when he entered the house it was in a state of maximum randomness (especially my office). It wasn't until later that it occurred to me that my neighbor and the cop had potentially risked their lives to protect our paltry possessions. Sure, nothing but a harmless breeze had broken in, and yeah, burglars are not usually armed and dangerous, but still. I have to say I’m pretty glad we live next door to a cop and a retired one at that—one who can spend his idle hours keeping an eye on our house.
He’s a good guy, even if we probably don’t see eye to eye on everything. I, for example, would not walk down my driveway carrying a naked shotgun when packing for a hunting trip (they do make storage or carrying cases for shotguns, don’t they?) Nor could I see myself going on a hunting trip. Or carving up a three-foot-long salmon (albeit fairly discreetly) on the front lawn.
Lessons: A) Be thankful for and appreciative of good neighbors. B) Remember to keep working on accepting people for who they are. C) Double-check that all security doors, regular doors, and windows are locked before leaving the ding-dong house!
posted by Rozanne at 1:16 AM
3 Comments:
You are very forunate to have a neighbor that cares !! Glad it was just the breeze.
Some you just take the safety off, some you cock.
Sharon
http://atthispointintime.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Sharon. Now I know.
I am constantly forgetting my alarm is on and walking out on the back deck. Then I wait the 90 seconds it takes for the monitoring station to call me and ask me the secret question. Then they laugh at me, or say, "Jeez, only once this month?"
Let's just say they earn their $19.95 a month from me!
Denise
And So It Goes
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