Locks everywhere, yes. Alarms, too. Guns in the house and we know how to use them. A large dog and a smaller yappy one.
We've had people break into our home, people with their noses against our windows, watching us inside, an armed intruder at night (my son awoke and the intruder ran), peeping Toms hiding in trees or bushes watching from a distance, identity theft from our mailbox contents, etc.
The list goes on and on. The least safe we've ever been was when we lived in the country, like we do now. When there are fewer people around, the dangerous ones feel they have less chance of getting caught. Lack of street lights, of close neighbors, of people who would notice strangers lurking nearby, all contribute to the sense of invincibility of the criminally minded.
Husband was state patrolman and then federal cop until retirement. Two sons are cops. We had cop cars in the driveway. That seemed to make us a more fun target. They'd wait for the car to be gone, and then come over.
Husband is a minority and I'm not, so that attracted more crazies.
Now we're on 15 acres, on a hill with lovely views, but no close neighbors. Last week I found cigarette butts in the garden. Footprints showed someone had stood by some huge trees, probably watching the house, and smoked several cigarettes. There was no reason for anyone to be there.
No place is safe. You have to protect yourself to the best of your ability. We changed the side door lock to a combination lock so that whenever we are outside, we can lock it and never worry about getting locked out if we don't have a key. If I can't see the door, it's locked.
Today, hubby and I installed a driveway alarm. It's set to alert us to any vehicles, or adult-sized people walking.
Does all this make us sound crazy ourselves? To some maybe it does. I'd rather be a little crazy in being overly cautious than to be someone's next victim. A sad commentary on the world, isn't it?
Love your neighbors, but protect yourselves from the dangerous.
SusanHere
