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Sun 30 Sep, 2012 12:45 am
I'm careful about door answering and was before I met my husband. I remember not answering when a friend ran up the steps and banged on my door very late. Nothing important, but don't do that to me late at night.. that turned out to be nothing. But, later I learned, my husband had lived in a trouble neighborhood, went through a home invasion. Yes, his family had a shotgun, in the closet, but so did the invaders, in hand. They got out of it by the crippled mother tottering out the front door and screaming when the invaders were looking for money.
So, like, I don't just answer the door at midnight.
In ordinary circumstance, I'm not interested in sales or religion. So far so good - I think religion has given up on me and I don't mind the odd left card about landscape help. That's mostly it, in daytime.
Doorbell tonight.
Doorbell again.
This of course reminds me of my immediate neighbor's house being on fire, now a few years ago (they're fine, thanks), at 4 a.m. I wouldn't answer and wouldn't answer and she kept hammering and I answered. Had to find a bathrobe and go out and watch the fire a couple of feet from my place.
Tonight, I shut down lights.
Doorbell again.
Criminy.
I dialed 91, in wait for the 1.
Doorbell again.
Christ.
Hammering.
I finally said, who is it? This is useless, as I'm hard of hearing, but hey..
more who is it? sounded like a woman's voice.
I grabbed Katy at the collar and opened the door a bit.
A woman in distress.
Her son ... Belen... jail ...what... need ...
She's a new renter here, son in trouble, she won't have her check until monday.
I don't get mine until wednesday, plus it's owed.
We ended up ok, I was fine I answered the door.
I don't know what she did after talking with me.
Scary, Osso. Banging on our door at midnight would give me palpitations. Well, at any time, really. We don't get that here. Once in a while there'll be a knocking but it's always some kind of solicitor/pedlar person... oh, or someone delivering another guitar.
I leave my patio sliding door open most nights so my dogs can go out and pee, and half the time we leave the front door unlocked. We're not in a neighbourhood where people are out at night. But it's stupid of me/us, I admit. Gotta start smartening up.
@ossobuco,
That happened to me once. I was only living here for about a month. Someone was knocking on the front door and it woke me up. I got up and turned the lights on looked out the window and a man was walking away, I had a feeling he was checking to see if someone was home and once he found out someone was he decided to leave.
Another time a guy came to the front door offering to wash all my windows for $25.00, he wasn’t dressed like someone who would do that for such little money. I didn’t want anyone around the house so I told him no.
My neighbor Gilbert told me most likely he sizing up the house, looking to see what was inside and come back later when I wasn’t home.
@jcboy,
Yeah, it's just a darn shame we can't take a chance on giving someone a little help when they need it.
@roger,
A few weeks ago I was still up when there was a knock on the door at around midnight on Saturday but I didn't hear it. My son came and said 'there's someone at the door with a three -legged dog'. We called her Tripod but didn't keep her because we already have a dog and she didn't seem very healthy. And vet bills are ridiculously expensive these days.
@Pearlylustre,
Somebody knocked on your door at midnight to see if you could take in a three legged dog?
@roger,
True, you try to do something nice for someone and you never know what their real intentions are.
I went to subway for lunch and there was a young guy standing out front, said he was hungry and asked me for change, well I always use my debit card and I didn’t have any money on me so I offered to buy him a sandwich, he didn’t want the food he just wanted money.
Since I had the experience back those few years ago when there was door pounding at 4 a.m. and when I finally got up nerve to answer it was my neighbor trying to warn me her house was on fire (the fire department was on its way) and flames were shooting into the sky, this time with all the door hammering it worried me that it might be something like that.... or someone in serious trouble. This time I probably opened the door slightly because it was a woman's voice. Huh, a man can be in trouble too, but that it was a woman made me slightly less afraid.
Who knows, she may turn out to be a crazy new person in the neighborhood, but she was really distressed.
Only one person has knocked that late, since I have been in my house. I did not see the knocker, but I know who it was. Years ago, when I was fairly new to the neighborhood, a kid tried to pry open my back door. My wife saw him run around the house and into the house across the street (she had just gotten home). The police took him away. He has always had it in for us since that day. For a time, about a year ago, he would pass the house in a pick up with a couple of friends. I could always hear the friends goading him to take action against us. He generally responded by yelling "**** you" out the window. One night, as I struggled to get to sleep. somebody knocked with a metal object. By the time I got to the door, there was no one there. He had to have climbed two gates to get there and then busted ass to get out before I made it to the door.
@edgarblythe,
That's icky, edgarB.
In both situations, the time with the neighbor warning me about fire and last midnight, the bell ringing and hammering on the door had a frantic quality - but the woman about the fire was pounding the door harder and I could hear her screaming. Not a good time for me, but really horrible for her.
The kid I wrote about has finally moved away. Much quieter around here.
@Ticomaya,
Some young people who had been drinking at a pub near my house found the three-legged dog hopping around and were looking for it's owner. I guessed it had been dumped so I said I'd look after it because I've dealt with dumped dogs before. I live in an area with lots of dogs and a popular dog walking beach so I guess people think there's a good chance if they dump their dog here someone will take it in. I called the council and it will have ended up at the dogs' home if it wasn't claimed.
I haven't had some one come banging on my door late at night - but I have banged on someone's door at like 2am. Sometimes it is in your best interest to answer.
Well actually I didn't bang - I kept ringing the door bell- it was crazy upstairs neighbor when her water heater was busted and we were being rained upon below. She was peaking and saw me and was all mad and sh*t you could tell - I waved her to open the door. The nut bag didn't even realize that tons of water was pouring into our unit - how the heck could she not notice or hear.
Idiot.
@Linkat,
Aw, you miss her, don't you?
@sozobe,
Yeah so much. One night I heard a loud bang and instinctively I thought crazy - and then a huge smile appeared as I realized that isn't even possible must have been the kids.
@Linkat,
So glad you're out of there!
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