My mother instilled a healthy fear of strangers in me while I was growing up. She made a point of teaching me hyper-vigilance about my home and personal space without managing to freak me out about the human race in general. I've spent the better part of 12 years trying to instill those concepts in my kids and, as any parent will tell you, it's not easy.
As an adult, I'm not afraid to talk to stranger — I rather enjoy it, actually. When it comes to protecting my home and family, however, it's a different story. I won't open the door to strangers and, frankly, don't give a crap if I offend a well-meaning adult or not by making then talk to the through the door. When it comes to service calls, no one gets past the threshold, even if I'm expecting you. When I go to someone's house and a child who doesn't know me throws the door open and welcomes me in, I'm truly horrified.
Shortly before moving out the the area last fall, I had some service done on the cable connection in my house. The following day, a man showed up in a technician's outfit claiming he needed to do a "Quality Assurance" check so I asked him for ID before letting him in. He started acting weird and took off. I called my cable company to see what the hell and they said they absolutely did not send anyone — that's not their standard practice, especially without and appointment.
Even after moving away, I've remained on the neighborhood watch email list. Today the group was notified that the local police department is investigating a rash of similar instances across the town. Needless to say, I'm both freaked out and relieved. I like to think that if I'd let the guy in that day, he would have cased the place and returned when I wasn't home to collect all my electronics and stuff. Of course, if he was up to no good there's no way of telling what could have happened.
I have a couple of reasons for relaying this story. First, we spend a lot of time teaching our kids to be careful and never open the door to strangers but it's easy to become complacent as adults. Second, I felt compelled to share it for the same reason that people say, "If I'd left five minutes later, I might have been home when the tree fell on the house."
Ever find out after the fact that you narrowly missed being the victim of a crime? I'd like to hear your experiences.
Posted by Lisa Hoover 
