A couple of homes were recently broken into in our neighborhood. We were informed at our last Home Owner’s Association meeting that the MO for all the robberies has been the same. The thieves knocked on people’s doors and rang their doorbells to see if anyone was home. When nobody answered, they went around behind the house and kicked the back door in.

Yesterday, at 8:15 a.m., someone rang our doorbell, knocked on our front door, and then walked around behind our house.

The reason I know this is because Susan and I were both home yesterday. I was upstairs working from home, and Susan had a 9 a.m. doctor’s appointment that she was getting ready for. I just assumed a FedEx or UPS guy had rung the doorbell. I didn’t realize Susan had just got out of the shower until I heard her yell, “Somebody just rang our doorbell and now they’re in the backyard!!!”

This is one of two reasons I own a gun. I don’t carry my gun with me to the mall or while I’m out shopping, but if someone were to break into my home while I was there, it would be a bad day for everybody. (The other reason I own one is for road trips.)

By the time I made it downstairs and to the backdoor, the person was gone. I told Susan to pre-dial 911 as I headed toward the front door. When I opened the door I saw… a pest control guy out by the street, packing his tools into his truck.

I stood on my front porch for a full five minutes in my best Ice Cube “Do we have a problem here?” pose until he left.

The pest control guy drove off in one direction, did a u-turn, drove back the other direction, and did another u-turn before stopping in front of the next door neighbor’s house. I’m guessing he checked the address on his paperwork a bit more closely the second time. Susan was already on the phone with our neighbors, confirming that the had indeed called asked a pest control guy to visit their house. They had.

The guy was still out by his truck when Susan left for her doctor’s appointment. As she drove by she rolled down her window, explained the situation, and cautioned the guy (who was obviously startled) that it might be best to make sure he had the right address before he opened people’s gates and began messing around in their backyards at 8:15 a.m. on a work day. He agreed.

When I got my concealed/open carry license a few years ago, our instructor warned us that you may never know if you are capable of shooting someone that means you harm until the time comes. As I stood there on my front porch with my hand wrapped around the grip of that gun, I knew the answer.