Door Bell Rings At Midnight

In my view, alarm systems are good for two things -- get your attention is there is a fire and getting you a small break on your home insurance. An alarm is not going to prevent someone from harming you or your property if they are intent on doing so. Plus, by the time the police get there, it's too late. I like the dog idea better. Those who've suggested external lights are right on. We had our car broken into in our driveway a couple of years ago, and the officers told us to make sure we leave outside lights on.

I've wrestled with the gun issue ever since. We have children, and I think it's generally a bad idea. Then again, if someone breaks into my house in the middle of the night and there's a possibility of someone getting killed, I'd like to be able to make sure it's the intruder instead of one of my family members.

In this situation, I wouldn't open the door, but I might make myself seen -- holding a Louisville Slugger.

 

Anybody that doesn't have some big swingable object in their bedroom is making a mistake in my opinion.

I couldn't not respond to the doorbell because I'd be worried that signaled I wasn't home and someone would try to come in. I would call the police and I'd get close enough to the door to yell (maybe from an upstairs window) that I called the police and that they're on their way. If the person is there for innocent reasons (car accident etc.) that helps them. If their reasons are more nefarious. They're likely to run.

 

Reminds me of one time we moved. We had to go before the movers could come, so we left an empty house for about 10 days. Now this was when I used to get my paper at the office and the competitor home delivered. I cancelled the subscription, but these idiots goofed and kept going. I come back to find 10 days of newspapers stacked at my door.

Not only did these jackasses put a nice big invitation to a burglar on my doorstep, they wanted me to pay for the papers delivered. They apparently still didn't stop even after I had left for good three days later, so I had cancelled twice and they still couldn't figure it out. I got a bill in the mail and told them to basiclally go fuck themselves. About a week later, I get a call from a bill collection agency. I calmly explained the situation, then called the subscription office and left a profanity-laced rant on their voicemail that I was quite proud of. Never heard from them again.

 

If so, is he going to kiss the guy next door? Then kill him?

 

Guy broke into his soon-to-be ex-wife's house with an assault rifle. Kids climb out the window, cross their five acres and ours, come to our door. Hours go by with the SWAT team at our place, located one of the kids who was missing, etc.

Got told to leave our house shortly after SWAT arrived, went to my grandparents' place. Guy gets arrested, gets out, cleans out checking account, gives $ to girlfriend, commits suicide.

That's the VERY short version.

 

I play a game with the people in the newsroom where I'll read a story off the wire and they'll have to guess if it happened in California, Florida or the Other 48.


Most of the time, the dateline is Florida.

 

Wow.

 

I meet that guy's twin brother every day on my way to and from games. I actually had a guy honk at me the other day because I stopped at a light that was red. Unless I had been going 60, I couldn't have made that light. To think that he had intended to run it bothered me even more. The scary part is that someone shot at a car last week because a driver did the same thing.

 

So...did the girlfriend keep the money?

 

I totally agree. But I'm not hitting an intruder with it -- that's for sure!

 

Well played. I just can't believe it took four hours.

 

I saw that earlier and thought it was the greatest hanging curve of all time.