Aware and Prepared

This book will deal with becoming more aware. Being more aware on the home front, while traveling, shopping and investing is becoming more important every day and as we get older and with the economy going downhill fast. Just because you are in your twenties or thirties don’t think you are safe from assaults or a home burglary. There are many points in this book that will be helpful. There are some points that seem to be common sense and yet most of us don’t even think to apply them until it is too late. If your home has an attached garage, keep the garage door closed when working in the house. “I live in an upscale neighborhood” or “my neighbors help keep the neighborhood safe”, these are some of the famous last words from someone who has yet to have a snow blower or expensive golf clubs taken from an open garage. Or even worse, someone comes into you home and assaults you, robs you or maybe…I don’t want to even go there, but you know what I mean. First and foremost upon arriving home if you suspect that your home has been broken into, DO NOT GO INSIDE!!! Go to a neighbor and call 911. You can even park a few houses away and call 911 from your cell phone if needed. It is always best to be on the side of caution rather than to risk your own personal safety. A strange car parked in your driveway is a sign to be cautious. Shades or blinds that are closed when you get home that you know you left open is another “beware” signal. Any window or door that may be open or broken when you get home is a not a good sign either. Especially if the window or door was not open when you left the house. When you come home, whether from work, shopping, church or anytime you need to open the overhead garage door to get into the garage, it only takes a second to push the button to close the garage door. Try to get into the habit of closing the door when your vehicle is completely in the garage before you exit the vehicle. Many times we get so caught up in our daily lives and routine to think of something so simple as to push the button to close the garage door when we get home. We have a call to make or groceries to put away or maybe a dog to let outside. There are many distractions that can take our minds off of something so minor, so simple. As you have seen from the opening chapter Why This Book? Why Now? (Check the FBI statistic), a crime can happen to anyone, anywhere at any time. So the question is, have we become so self-centered as to think…it can’t happen to me because I know better? That kind of thinking can be very costly. While working in the front yard stay alert of anyone approaching from the street. Don’t be so focused on the flowers or painting the front porch that you become oblivious to anyone walking toward you from the street. This could be a salesman, someone asking for direction or even a girl scout with your favorite cookies to sell you. The weather is getting nicer. It is time to plant the flowers in the front yard, you know, by the front window and porch. You gather all the little gardening tools you need for the job. You are trying to decide which flowers go where and how to make your yard look like a professional landscaper spent weeks getting the yard in the shape you wanted. However, being more aware of what is going on around you could save you a lot of trouble. You are working on the flowerbed, sitting on a work stool. You know the kind where you have all the tools you just took out of the garage, stored next to you or under the seat. Be sure one of those “tools” is either a cordless phone that works from the distance you are from the base or even better a cell phone. Try to be observant of any vehicles that may drive past your home more than two or three times. Devious people look for easy targets and may drive up and down a street several times before they decide which one may be the easiest target. I get asked about pepper spray and if it really works. The answer is yes. However, there is something else that most homeowners use that is just as effective and can hit your target at a greater distance. Wasp spray usually has a range of 15 to 20 feet and you can direct it more on certain areas. If you keep a can near you while working in the yard, it may be a good idea to have them in other areas in the house as well. Just aim at the face of any assailant and it works the same as pepper spray. When you are working in the back yard, whether you are cutting the grass, working on the garden, playing with the dog or any number of things. Be sure to keep the garage door closed. It only takes a few seconds for someone to pull into the driveway and take the golf clubs or expensive bicycle. They may go into your home, if you have an attached garage. Have an extra remote opener that you can take with you if you walk the dog or are in the back yard.