I’m an optimist. There, I said it. Curse me if you have to.
These days being an optimist can be cause for great criticism. I wandered past one of those “smart cars” in a parking lot the other day and sitting there on the dash, proud as can be, was a Radar Detector. A two cylinder hair dryer motor with a Christmas ornament atop. That’s not optimism, that’s misguided delusion.
People often accuse me of being a pessimist because I’m always talking about self defense and the “what ifs” planning that goes hand in hand with pre-emptive fight avoidance – but I’m not necessarily pessimistic because I choose to see the world we live in, as it is, versus how I’d like it to be.
Just like our “smart car” driver is living in la-la land thinking he’s ever going to need to avoid speed traps in a car that tops out at 35mph…yes, I’m being facetious. However, he could use a little more reality based thinking in his world, as could most other people. It’s not being pessimistic to acknowledge there are bad guys out there and that times are hard on a lot of people. Tough times will usually result in desperate people doing desperate things. Which is why robbery is on the rise, home invasions where the “perp” knows you’re home but breaks in anyway – typically accompanied by a friend because there is safety in numbers – are also up.
What’s your game plan going to be??
How about not programming the internal garage door openers on a car that sits mostly in the driveway at home? Or removing your little remote garage door opener when you go inside after running errands. I still drive through my neighborhood and see people who haven’t even closed their garage doors…at all. Don’t get me started. Accessing your home is in most cases, easiest when you are there, scary huh? Which is why these types of robbery are on the rise. They require the least amount of effort on the part of the perp. Send him on down the road to an easier target by following a few of these simple steps.
Or you could automatically re-set the alarm after you arrive home, not twenty minutes after we’ve been home and about to jump in the shower, but as soon as you are in to stay for more than two minutes. These are a few things that will start you thinking along the right lines.
More of these will follow in the coming weeks.
Once some basic home security measures are second nature, you can come back and join the fold as a member of my elite optimist group! You can be optimistic about the fact that with a few simple precautions, a little pre-emptive planning, and a pinch of “reality based” thinking, you’ll send the potential robber somewhere else.
In the meantime, I have a ten year old mountain bike in desperate need of a good ride….so where did I put that radar detector….
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