Great Alarm!

Our camper trailer is parked beside our driveway when we’re not using it (which is most of the time).  We’ve long been aware that when the trailer is NOT there we might as well put up a billboard announcing, “HEY, BURGLARS!  WE’RE OUT OF TOWN!”

 So when a home security salesperson stopped by in 2010 with a competitive offer for system installation and monitoring, we signed up.  And we’ve been happy with our decision for going on three years now.  By the way, we committed that if we were going to pay to HAVE this system, we were darn sure going to USE it.  So every time we leave the house (no exceptions), we arm the system.

 We learned that it’s easy to search public records for reports of break-ins or burglaries in our small town, and there had been very few in our neighborhood – but still we felt better with the system in place and in use.  Then last year (2012) our next-door neighbor came home one Tuesday mid-morning and surprised burglars in her home!  They ran, getting away with almost nothing.  Lucky for her!  But you can imagine how that made us feel.  About three months later the house directly across the street was ransacked on a Saturday afternoon!  We’re REALLY happy to have this system.

 Well, today we left the house at 12:56 pm to go play golf.  Yes, we armed the alarm.

 ASIDE:  I know.  It’s January.  And many of my Facebook and Blog friends live where it’s freezing and nasty right now.  I’m NOT trying to rub in the fact that it was 78 degrees here today with a nice south to southeast breeze blowing.  But, there it is.

 As we were walking off the first green at about 1:20, Carol’s cell phone rang.  Our alarm company was calling to tell us that there was an apparent entry through our laundry room door at 1:12 pm, and since they were unable to raise anyone at the house the authorities had been called and were on site at that time.  The police had reported no sign of an intruder or of anything having been displaced.  The caller suggested we might want to check with the police.

 YIKES!!

I called the police dispatcher (didn’t want to use 911 – this wasn’t an emergency after all) and was reassured that the officer had found the door unsecured, checked the house, locked the door and left.  If we wanted them to be present when we returned they would be glad to do so. 

 Our appetite for golf had waned, so we headed home.  Found nothing out of place.  Whew.

 We assume that the last one of us to use that door had just not pulled it shut hard enough to engage the latch.  And then a gust of that southeast breeze pushed it ajar. 

Or, perhaps… someone saw us leave together, waited about 15 minutes, tried the back door to see if they might get lucky, heard the alarm panel start squawking, and ran.  We’ll never know for sure. 

But like I said, we have a great alarm!  We’re happier than ever that we got it!

(Oh, and that neighbor who surprised the burglars in her home?  She has the same alarm system now in her home!)