My Old House

On Wednesday morning, I woke up, got dressed, and immediately went out onto our sun-porch’s roof.  I started bagging up the asbestos shingles that I had broken off of the house on it’s back / west side the previous day.

Finishing up with that, I showered, dressed in cleaner clothes, and then left the house at 8:30 AM.  I went to a couple of hardware stores and a craft store.

When I came back at 10:30 AM, I was startled to see that one of the two kitchen windows on the rear of the house was wide opened.  Not broken, just lifted up all the way.  But its screen had been torn-out and was lying on the ground.

My first thought was that my stepson must have needed something VERY BADLY.  However, when I entered the house, I noticed almost immediately that my company-provided laptop was missing from the dining room table!

I called my stepson’s girlfriend and learned that he had been at work all morning… and at this point, it registered in my brain that he would never take the laptop.

So I then dialed 911… they answered within one ring! (Thank you!)

Within 10 minutes, a squad car pulled up.  The officer dusted the window pane… plus a kitchen island that the intruder probably moved or crossed to get into the kitchen… for prints.  However, he came up empty.  (And, honestly, I wondered if this wasn’t just “for show” / for my benefit.)

In the end, we agreed that I needed better window locks or security. (The current locks are just cheap plastic tabs that fit in slots that have a very shallow depth to them.)  He said they were obviously taking things that were light and expensive, since I had only identified so far that the laptop had been stolen.

Our neighbors to the south heard their dog barking a lot during about the time of the break-in.  But heck, that dog still barks at ME all the time, so they didn’t think anything of it.

The intruder grabbed the laptop, but didn’t apparently notice the laptop bag (with accessories in it) in the next room.   I noted that he / she had gone through the second floor and even the attic, as doors and closet doors that we normally keep closed were wide opened. 

However, my main home computer was untouched, as were both a large and small TV we have.

I called my wife’s job and left a message for her… and when she couldn’t reach me by phone (the officer and I were talking with my neighbors at the time), she just decided to come home.

Once she was home, I asked her to check and see if any of her jewelry was missing (she has one of those jewelry armoires).  She immediately noticed that a pair of 1/2 carat diamond earings that I bought for her last Christmas were gone.  (Small, light, obviously of value.)

Only later that afternoon did I realize that a watch that my father-in-law had given me for Christmas was missing from off of the top of my dresser.  (Again, small, light, easy-access.)

It really didn’t look like the intruder went through any drawers at all.

My home automation stuff isn’t set up to be a burglar alarm.  I’ve got some motion sensors rigged to trip outdoor lights, but obviously, this was broad daylight.

I plan on beefing up our door and window security.  And I may get a full-fledged security system, although opinions vary on whether or not they’re actually a deterrent.

I informed the various neighbors and some contacts a few blocks over… and learned that there have been a few home burglaries lately in our area.

My wife is taking it pretty well.  She’s more annoyed than anything.   I consider us to be very lucky.  They could have ransacked the house a whole lot more.  They could have damaged property more or stolen more stuff.

This event just acts as a “reality check” for me.  Keeps me from being naive about where I live.

Gotta run!

Thanks!

-= Dave =-