Felt safe until now

[Odyssey]

Up a dirt road, not near enough to the swimming creek, good climbing apple trees, and skating pond, but far too close to the manure piles, my family lived our rural lives in a place many still regard as "out of touch". My Texan uncle and Detroit aunt soon put a stop to that, and often. They spoiled us with Christmas gifts we'd only dreamed of in Eaton catalogues; news from places we'd never heard of. It was always a bigger world when my Godparents came roaring up our dead end road in their big shiny Chrysler. In the aftermath of their visits we'd readjust our lives and try to make sense of the wider exotic disturbing world we were missing. One reminder were the copies of tabloid papers my aunt often left behind. The lurid details of violence and mayhem, and sensational news of shredded lives, served merely as entertainment for when our mundane lives felt too small. My parents never did lock their doors.
Decades later, and those lives having passed, memories carry on. I'm fortunate enough to be able to enjoy 2 annual weeks "out of touch" and "away from it all", tho' that doesn't guarantee my safety. Bad stuff happens everywhere. But the other 50 weeks a year I spend in the midst of society, both good and bad, navigating without fear but with caution and common sense; hoping and expecting to never make the tabloids.

 

[Alan Gage]

My parents never did lock their doors.

Those places still exist. If you asked me to find my house keys I wouldn't even know where to look. Probably buried at the bottom of the junk drawer. Keys never leave the car ignition.

Like you I never expect to be a tabloid story. But you never know what might happen. I've never felt scared or threatened in "society." Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's wishful thinking. Maybe I'm naive. But I have faith. Faith that the overwhelming majority of people are good, that the few that aren't are not likely to bump into me, and that things are going to be ok.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've never felt scared or threatened in "society." Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's wishful thinking. Maybe I'm naive.

Maybe it's Estherville (where?), Iowa.

 

[Alan Gage]

Maybe it's Estherville (where?), Iowa.

I'm sure that's what helped shape my feelings but I've done a fair amount of traveling and I don't recall ever feeling more than mildly concerned, and that was mostly just me being paranoid about unfamiliar surroundings. Though I will admit to removing the keys from my car, and sometimes even going so far as to lock it, when traveling.

Not paying attention to the news helps too.

Alan

 

[memaquay]

We never used to lock our doors, but the bear problem in G-Town has risen to epic proportions. They have learned how to open car doors and also house doors. When we came back from three days of moose hunting last weekend, a bear had destroyed my garage door, it looked like the army had planted C1 on it and exploded it, fragments of door every where. They could easily broach one of our house doors. It has gotten so bad that the 12 gauge slugs are on the dresser, and the pump is hidden but handy. So I guess we don't feel safe now,LOL! The bears in town have to be shot, but so many people feel bad for the bears that a shooting would be widely condemned. Anyway, time for the triple S team out here, I can't afford new doors, and my wife is anxious.

 

[Alan Gage]

Anyway, time for the triple S team out here

I Googled that and something must have gotten lost in translation:

 

[memaquay]

Well, I wouldn't mess with those guys, er them, or whatever. Shoot, shovel, shut up, that's the Triple S team up here, composed mostly of angry old guys who drink too much beer on a Friday night.

 

[lowangle al]

That's too bad Mem, they must be finding food somewhere. We have that problem here in Pa. because some neighbors were feeding them. In AK. it is illegal to feed wildlife, except for bird feeders. Which in Anchorage have to be removed from April until November or something like that. We also can't put out the garbage the night before.

 

[Erica]

I stayed with friends near Asheville, NC, who keep the doors locked all the time because the bears know how to open doors.

I grew up in a house in suburban Chicago. The doors were never locked.

 

[Dana]

"We lock the front door when we go out so folks will know we're out, but we leave the back door unlocked in case somebody needs to get in."

 

[Gamma1214]

I'm very pleased that I'm not the only one on here that doesn't lock their doors. Our bears aren't that smart yet (and the neighbors are trustworthy).

 

[UCanoe_2]

Our driveway is 600 feet long, and the entrance is mostly obscured by trees. Our neighbors are trustworthy and we live in a low crime area.

We do not lock the doors when we are at home, but do when we are gone overnight. This exercise is really mostly futile, because there are several windows accessible from grade level, where an intruder could break in without being observed.

We bring car and truck keys inside. However, the tractor key is in the ignition switch all the time. We are not consistent. It would be harder to make a fast getaway with the tractor.

It is extremely rare for someone to drop by unannounced. On one occasion I came home to find a bicyclist in the driveway vegetation who was looking for a place to pee. Another time, two guys drove up in a car trying to sell something (I forget what). They wanted me to look at their merchandise in the trunk of the car. I was not about to give them an opportunity to knock me upside the head, so I told them to hit the road. They did not know that I had a rifle just inside the workshop door.

Oh yeah, bears. Once some critter, most likely a bear, got into our garbage can and dragged a 10 pound bag of wet kitty litter across the field. After that we brought the garbage can into the garage. The bears in this area get hunted and are pretty afraid of people.

Rabies is endemic among the local raccoon population. One night the electric lineman was held hostage in his truck by a rabid coon for 45 minutes. Another time, in broad daylight, a coon wandered around our back yard, climbed up on the back porch, and had a grand mal seizure. Raccoon + central nervous system disorder = rabies. We might have one animal control officer somewhere in the 1000 square mile county, but who knows how long he would take to respond. Out here in the rural area we have to do our own animal control.

 

[Black_Fly]

basically under 18.5" is restricted for any firearm, under 18" is prohibited, but there are some minor exceptions, there's also the caveat that they are only for animal defence outside of hunting season, never for defense against humans

So, it’s the old “tried by 12 or carried by 6 rule.” Or, the more extreme “SSS” rule.

What about capacity? I put a magazine extension on my shotgun and I’m wondering if that ruined it for bear gun duty in Canada.