Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Concerned Parents

After three hours of class, with one hour left to go, we took a small break and went outside to see the weather. I checked my phone and see a text from mom. Expecting it to be asking to run an errand, I quick open it up and here’s what I read: “Lock the house door”. Puzzled I reply, “I’m not home”, to which she replies: “I know, lock ur car door and call dad.” So I call dad up and he must have been busy because all he tells me is not to go home, come straight to where he is working, after school.

Can you imagine the panic that was beginning to rise up inside me? Needless to say, I heard nothing that was said in that last hour of class. My mind was making up all these dreadful scenarios. The one that made most sense to me was that there was a criminal terrorizing the area. I worried a little because, if it’s a burglar, it just so happens that if you walk into our front door the first things you would see on the table right by it would by my laptop, camera, and camcorder.

As soon as class gets out I immediately call dad back to get things straight. He tells me that there are some men in the Lake Camelot area who have been following girls home. Mom and Dad’s worry grew when they thought of me going home to a completely empty house by myself.

So, dad arranged for me to meet him at the house he is working at so he could follow me home. Upon arriving home he takes me straight to his gun cabinet and takes out a pistol. “Shoot first, ask questions later” he tells me as he shows me how to use it. He has me put it in an accessible place and tells me to lock all the doors. On the phone later he wanted to make sure I would know to point it in the right direction and not just go shooting will nilly. I said, “yah, so, I’ll go for arms and legs right? I don’t want to kill anyone, right?” “Actually,” dad replies, “if you just injure them, they’ll sue you, if you kill them, it will be out of self defense and you won’t be in trouble for that.” This is what his police friend told him.

I talked to mom next on the phone. She laughed when I told her dad gave me a gun, but instead of saying, “well, that’s too dramatic,” or, “he’s worrying too much” she says, “Good, just make sure you don’t shot the kids when they come home from school.” She explained that she didn’t want me scared, but she felt this was a pretty serious warning, not to be taken lightly.

I don’t want to blow this out of proportion. I’m not afraid and the chances that someone is actually going to try to follow me home and enter my house and put me in a position of having to defend my life, are extremely little. But, for my parents sake, I’m not going to brush it off either. I mean, there are wackos out there. And, if we’re honest, I am home alone every day for at least three hours with no neighbors close enough to know if anything were amiss. And I do go into a bad part of town every day, and drive home from there everyday, alone.…..I think its time to get a dog. A big one.

3 comments:

  1. You mean Steve doesn't cut it?! ;) How about a great Dane??... or you could snatch Darcy..
    ~Rebekah Kummer

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  2. Ha, I actually had to go out and snuggle with Steve for a little while, just for the comfort, unfortunatly, he would be useless in a fight. But a great dane....lol

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