verbingnouns

you really oughtta cut back on the pre-bed viewings of 'psycho'

I always felt safe after I'd gone to bed because my parents were there. It's really strange to be on the other side of that - that just being there makes someone else feel safe.

I can relate. I now own a *really* big dog with enhanced sniffing ability. If a bad guy broke in and smelled like bacon or brought a pizza I'd be in trouble.

I know how you feel Christin. I came home the other day not knowing that Rebecca was home, and we both scared the crap out of eachother! We laugh about it now, but I was pretty scared at the time.

Your mother and I nearly had one of those Grand Clong* moments the other night where one person gets up a 3 am to go to the bathroom and 2 minutes later the other person gets up to do the same but neither of you (both being half-asleep) knows the other one is up. You think they’re sound asleep in the bed when low-and-behold a shadowy person appears 6 inches from your face. Shazam! You’re no longer half-asleep—you’re now awake times ten.

*William Rusher defines a “Grand Clong” as a sudden rush of crap to the heart.

You used the word Shazam!!! Yes!!

Is that alarm standard issue at your apartment complex? If it is they should probably go ahead and supply all the tenants with a car alarm as well.

Yes it is standard with the apartment. I already have a car alarm, but it's more annoying than useful. I think I'm the only one who has ever set it off.

I admire the fact that you are not afraid to tell this story.

What can I say? I'm shameless.

we have no alarm...never have had one. I used to get scared our ex-neighbor would seek revenge on me..he was quite the scary fellow and we often saw him drive slowly by our house. I hate being alone at home after nightfall, you'd think a "5th Gup" in Tae Kwan Do would have a lil more confidence eh??? Oh well. Having 5 bros really has its advantages ;)

Taekwondo? Why? I prefer the traditional and infinitely more effective .45 caliber pistol. Or, in my case, a Mauser .32 caliber.

I'm not scared of the night. But I *AM* scared of snakes...and spiders, but not so much.

We do have a bb gun in the house, as well as a pistol, but I've always thought I would use the dining room chairs. Or bust the bottom off a beer bottle like tough guys do in the movies. But then I do think of myself as a tough guy...

I have one of those Smith & wesson alarm systems. It goes off real loud a couple of times whenever there's an intruder.

When I was in the military, they taught us hand to hand combat(of course, it's useless in real life...it just isn't wise to break someone's neck, drive their nose bone into their brain, bust their ears to cause hemmoraging...all resulting in death, I do wish they'd just taught us to flip people or something)my hand to hand combat instructor made a very effective point. He had the two "toughest guys" in our company literally duke it out and then told everyone he was 100% sure that he would defeat the winner. The winner came at him after a brief rest and the instructor pulled out a .45 and shot him 7 times(they were blanks, of course). No one made a sound and the "tough guy" had peed all over himself. Finally the instructor said, "If you are fighting hand to hand, you are an idiot. You have excellent means of defending yourself at your disposal. Use them, and don't spare the firepower when you do it." He said that he was a police officer in Chicago before he was drafted during 'Nam and that in every case when someone defended themself using a weapon against a criminal, the criminal fled, was wounded, or was killed. One other thing he said, after such incidents, burglaries and violent crimes always dropped off in that area.

Moral of the story:
Buy a gun. Learn to use it. If you don't know where to start, talk to one of the men in the church that you suspect knows something about such things. My wife can shoot and I pity the fool that comes in my house with the intent to harm any of my family.
The old saying is true:
"God made man. Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson made them equal."

Right on, SunofThunder.

Anybody, male or female, can learn to use a 12-gauge shotgun adequately within a couple of hours, if that. And a 100 lb girl/woman is going to be a lot more effective with a 12-gauge than if she's tossing herself at an attacker in an attempt to fight hand-to-hand.

Personally, I prefer a pistol. But a 12-gauge is probably the best bet for someone who doesn't want to or doesn't have the time to practice a lot.