It Is Alarming
I have
mentioned many times that we live in a creepy house. We have a corner townhome and have two
connecting neighbors. The house is not
sound insulated particularly well and when someone next door clomps around, it sometimes
sounds like they are right downstairs and in our house…especially at night.
Several
years ago, someone broke into the house when no one was home. They scampered out the back when Mrs. C came
home and they stole nothing…still it leaves you feeling a little creepy. It is because of all this that Mrs. C is very strict about locking the doors when
entering or leaving the house, and setting the alarm. When the door is locked the creepy noises are
easier to ignore.
Currently my
youngest, 19 yo Spencer, is spending the summer with us before he heads back to
school. He is used to entering a house
through the garage door where you do not need to worry about locking up as a
code is needed to enter. Spencer is not
very good about remembering to lock the door when entering or leaving the
house.
This last
weekend we left him alone and made sure to drill into him the importance of
locking the door and setting the alarm.
The other
night, Spencer left to see friends around 9:30 PM. Mrs. C and I were in bed watching tv when he
left.
“You’d better go down stairs and make
sure he locked the door.”
“I agree, odds are that he did not.”
I went down
stairs to check and as my feet left the stairs and hit the first floor, I was
greeted by a piercing siren and flashing lights. I stood paralyzed for several
seconds before it struck me what had happened.
Spencer not only locked the door, he also set the alarm while we were
inside the house.
I shut off
the alarm. Then the alarm company called
asking for the password to confirm all was clear. Fortunately, Mrs. C took the call as I did not
know the password.
At least we
gave the alarm system a good check, and probably scared the bejesus out of our next-door
neighbors.
I went back
upstairs and started to complain about my idiot son when Mrs. C reminded me,
“Now you know how Peter (Step-son)
felt when you did the same thing to him a few years ago!”
“Oh yeah!”
Oops! I
guess like father, like son.
I would say young Spencer comes by it honest, as my mom used to say.
ReplyDeleteGot to give Spencer credit for remembering to lock door/set alarm :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Reminds me of the time we installed an alarm system but hadn't yet told our son who didn't live with us but occasionally dropped in via his bedroom window if we weren't home, to raid the pantry or use the washing machine. So we were out one day and he dropped in, set off the alarm and went right out to the front porch to sit and wait for the police who arrived the same time we got home.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd like to have seen what would have happened with the alarm company if Mrs. C hadn't been home with the password.
ReplyDeleteIt might be a good idea for you to learn the password, too. Maybe by the time he leaves for school, your son will have it down pat, and then when he comes to visit next year, he can start all over. That's what happens to me when i only go to a place once a year, i have to relearn everything.
ReplyDeleteIt might be a good thing to learn that password.
ReplyDeleteYes, learn that password. All of us have stories about alarms. Yours is a very good one.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, Joe. ☺
Sometimes it feels like a prison when you have an alarm system, but mostly it adds to the feeling of security.
ReplyDeleteA good dog might be handy. All you have to remember is their name. Miss the old days when we never locked our doors--car or home. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat would have scared the s**t out of me!!
ReplyDeleteIf Mrs. C would set the password as JERK, you could remember it easily.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a shock to suddenly recognize oneself in one's children.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the other comments. You definitely need to learn that password.
ReplyDeleteGlad Mrs. C was okay when your house was broken into. My grandmother had an alarm like that. We spent a summer with her when I was a teenager. I don't know how many times I set that stupid alarm off going downstairs in the middle of the night. We have dogs. I think they may be easier than dealing with an alarm.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I set off an alarm at work when I went into the offices (people were there in the warehouse, but this was the first time that one of them hadn't been in the office yet to turn off the alarm). Promptly, the alarm company called and asked for a password. I remember telling them to hold on a minute and running to the back door to holler at one of my co-workers for the password.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you need to know the password.
That alarm sound is brutal. I had an armfull once and thought I had time to set it down before turning off the alarm. I miscalculated.
ReplyDelete