Our LIFE – in the moment

I just read a post by Swoosieque and it has brought back a memory to write about. This story is about a robber breaking in to our home when I was about 10 years old and home alone!!

I was only about 10 years old. Mom and I lived with my grandparents and Uncle in a 2 story cape home. My mom worked the 8am till 5p shift, my grandparents worked at the same shop and didn’t get home till about 3:30p and Uncle Stanley always took the bus downtown at a certain part of the day (he was retired). Me, well when school let out I would walk at least a mile to catch the bus that would drop me off about 3p at my home. I was a latch key kid :-).

So, on this particular day my grandparents would be home a little later then usual as it was their food shopping day on the way home from work. Mom was still at work and Uncle Stanley had taken the bus downtown for a haircut. School let out as usual, the day was nice and the walk was uneventful. The bus arrived with my favorite bus driver (they all new me and took really good care of me, mom new I was well supervised) plus of course I was a “good girl” :-).  I still remember the 2 different bus drivers faces, I think one was Ed but can’t remember the other, just what they looked like! Anyway, back to the story… I got off at my stop as usual, went up to the front door, unlocked and went inside. All was good. Put my school stuff away, settled into the living room chair and put the TV on. Then the drama began to unfold…

I’m going to back up for a second; I was told never to open the door for a stranger especially while you are home alone! I will also mention that, if you are in the house looking out the front window, to the left of our house was what they called a query. It was a vacant lot with a huge cliff, trees and led into a woodsy area (in other words very easy to disappear in..). To the right side was a neighbor with a super high fence and never talked to us. Across the street was a big park that went for miles. Our backyard went all the way back with some trees and small rolling hill and touch only the backyards of our neighbors. I’m trying to give you the picture of how easy it was to break in and not many, if any, would notice! Well, the 2nd house down on the right, this information will be important later, lived a family with a doberman Pincer and the man was Mr. Bridgeport winner, you know the weight lifter winner for our city! Okay back to the story!

So I’m sitting in the living room watching a show and the doorbell rings… Hum, now what?? I shut off the TV and peek around the corner from the living room into the kitchen where the door to the breezeway (the inclosed area between the house and the garage) is. This door is made of wood and a little more than halfway up were 3 very small windows that went up, one at a time and at an angle to each other. I hope I described that okay? As I was listening and staring at the door waiting for the bell again or for this person to leave I heard the inside to the garage door open?? Why was this person going into our garage? Now you can only imagine  what a 10 year old girl might be thinking? What was to happen next froze me to the wall frame I was leaning against. Beyond a 10 year old imagination I could not believe what was happening. This big hairy arm, holding a hammer in its hand, was raised up against the lowest small pane window. And yup, you guessed it… smack and bang and shattering glass!! Now I’m talking to myself in disbelief as I watch this hairy arm reaching through the broken window toward the doorknob!!! What do I do? which way do i go? Ah, the front door…no,no I’ll bet he has partner waiting outside the door (watched to many movies).. I chose to run upstairs (no one said a 10 year old was the smartest!!). I ran into my room where the phone was and called my Mother at work. Now I’m going to step back again for just a moment. You see, there were times when I was well called well kind of a joker :-).  Back to the call. The conversation went sort of like this: Mom (and I’m whispering) there is someone in the house. Mom: What?? Me: A guy rang the doorbell and when I didn’t answer went into the garage, got a hammer, broke the glass and opened the door!! Mom: Wow, that’s a good one. Stop fooling around, I’m busy at work. I’ll call you later. Me: I’m not kidding there really is someone in the house. Somehow she got the message that I was not kidding. Mom: hang the phone up and go hide in the closet.. To this day I still remember that closet.. My mother had so many shoes, and I mean a ton, all lined up perfectly… So where in the world does one safely stand among rows of perfectly lined shoes??? Standing and hiding afraid of the shoe domino effect, you know knock one and they all go boom!! I could hear him walking around downstairs as I stood not moving a muscle wondering how I was going to stay alive? The next thing I heard was this commotion and a voice saying “Dee, Dee where are you?” I came out of the closet ever so quietly and then my 10 year old brain said to me ,in a quite voice of course, “I don’t know how he found out my name turn around and go back into the closet” After about what seemed like hours the people I told you about earlier, you know the one with the Doberman and Mr Bridgeport, had ran over to our house. You see my wonderful, quick thinking Mom had saved my life by calling the neighbors first and then the police. They rushed over with their dog, the robber had seen them coming dove out my Uncle’s bedroom window as they came in through the breezeway door. I was saved!! The cops came, Mom came home, grandma and grandpa came home and of course Uncle Stanley came home on the same bus with the same driver to a house of people and police. A funny part of this story is my Uncle never really believed in banks. He had hidden his cash money all rolled up in his socks and the robber, in looking for things, had thrown the socks all over the floor LOL. The police took the hammer, which we never saw again, and a year later we got robbed again… but that is another story for another time. The only important part of that right now is that this time, see we think it was the same person, he went upstairs!!!

I am alive and very thankful for all the quick action that was taken!! I feel very blessed :-). Wow, what a memory that was!!