So This is What Happened Next

This turned out not to be such a wise move on our part. Within about a year some tools were stolen out of our garage, my credit card was stolen out of my purse, my husband’s wallet was stolen at a hotel when he was on a business trip and our baby stroller had been stolen in a public place. We were shaken up good, we lived in a little town with a low crime rate and awesome neighborhoods, just North of San Francisco, and we never expected anything to be stolen. This opened our eye to the possibilities of other dangers that we were oblivious to. Needless to say, America might not be up there with all the high crime, high unemployment countries in the world, but it is also not a haven of crimeless bliss.

To be totally relaxed and not take care of your family’s security would be living in denial. We started looking into security products for our family, obviously not something as radical as we would use in South Africa, but things such as a Stun Gun and some Pepper Spray for me when I drive woman-alone at night and an inexpensive Personal alarm to make us aware of some strange movements in and around our house at night. These and other items turned out to be worth every penny when it came to peace of mind. I’m a Christian and I believe I have angels that protect me and my family, but I also believe we have been given sound minds and it would be irresponsible not to use them.

Please don’t learn the hard way as we had to, take my word for it, it is always better to be sure than sorry and when it comes to your family, you can never be too sure.

Safety In America

My family and I came to America about seven years ago and when we first arrived here, we were convinced that this must be the “safest place on earth”. It is easy to see how we could think this, coming from a very different and hostile environment. My husband and I both grew up in South Africa; we were young adults when our country became known for its political violence and turmoil due to the oppression of people’s rights for many years. We got married and started a family during the uncertain years when Apartheid finally unraveled and came to an end.

Those were years of wondering whether the country would be plunged into a bloodbath and whether our family would be alive the next day or not. Thankfully, none of our worst fears came true, but we kept on leading very uncertain lives. We grew up having burglar bars (iron bars) in front of all our windows and doors, and by the mid nineties you also needed a proper alarm system, a guard dog and, if you could afford it, some electric fencing to protect your family and property.

You could not get any car insurance without installing an alarm system and a steering lock and even then your vehicle had to be locked inside your garage or it would be stolen. We woke up many frightful nights with the alarm going off. A few times my husband caught thieves red handed; these were dreadful times for me, having to scatter to get the firearm out of the safe while frantically calling the police, always not knowing if the thief was armed himself and if we would survive the ordeal. We were lucky, some of our possessions were stolen over the years, but we have loved ones and friends who paid with their health and even their lives.