Nothing To Fear

I am one of those people who believe in locks. I believe that locks keep the honest people honest and present a challenge for those of us who happen to be less than honest. I always lock my car when I park it in a lot while I go shopping. I always lock my doors both front and back at night and when we happen to be out for whatever reason. A few years ago I started to lock my gates when I noticed that someone was using my yard to cut through to the alley and did a little petty theft in the garage on the way.

I know that if my house is locked and the gates are locked then the would-be thief will just move to the next house if it is an easier target. I don't wish a break in on any of my neighbours, but better them than me.

When I was growing up, no one ever locked their doors. Well, we locked our front door which was actually on the side of the house and the back door (other side) was always left open. There weren't "latch key kids" back in those days, if you happened to get home from school and mom wasn't there we would just let ourselves in the back door. There was always a house key hidden in the garage, but I don't think it ever moved from the nail it hung on. For all I know, it just might still be there sixty years later.

Times have changed. Now, whether I am just getting older and more afraid of life or there is a real and imminent threat to my house and home, I just can't say. I do know that I have more fear than I did when I was younger. I am afraid to say anything to an angry person for fear they will go apeshit on me. I'm afraid that I will come home from vacation and someone will have violated my home. I'm afraid that my car will get broken in while I am shopping. I'm not "never-going-out-the-door" scared, but I do have concerns.

Last night at around three AM I heard a noise coming from the living area of the condo we are staying at. Our condo is on the ground floor and just three steps separate it from the communal walkway. I walked down the short hallway and stood in the dark where it met the living area. I looked and listened to see if there was anyone rummaging through our stuff. I didn't have my glasses on, they were in the living room, so I couldn't see very well. I could see that the sliding door was open and I always lock it before going to bed. The lock wouldn't keep a determined person out for more than a minute or two.

I could see the shadow of a man standing on the lanai and it appeared that he too was listening and watching to see if anyone was awake. I must have made a noise coming from the bedroom. The noise resumed so I imagined he felt that all was safe for him to continue. Should I turn on the light? Should I make some kind of noise that would let him know someone was awake and he should beat a hasty retreat?

While I was thinking about what would be the safest thing for me to do, his shadow moved. I moved and the shadow moved. I moved again and so did the burglar's shadow. Once more I moved and so did MY shadow. Well, nothing to fear at all it seems.

It turned out that I forgot to close the sliding door last night when I went to bed. The noise was a sunshade that had loosened in the wind and just needed to be tightened. My biggest problem now is that I have all of this adrenaline coursing through my body and won't be able to fall asleep until it gets back to normal levels. WOW! That was weird!

I have nothing to fear but fear itself.