Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun

Theresa and I arrived at our home in Florida and had to do all the routine things to open our house. It is up to Theresa to open the door and get to the alarm system before it actuates and brings the police. This has never been a problem but this time Theresa opened the door and instead of going directly to the alarm box she yelled to me to turn on the lights. It was dark inside because of the shutters were still on but there was enough light for her to navigate carefully. She never made it and all hell broke loose. The siren made such a noise but she quickly turned it off. Too late as it turns out.

I went about my business of turning on the power, the hot water tank, the water and started to take off shutters covering the pool side door. I was working and making a lot of noise so never heard the police car pull up. The policeman saw our garage door open and yelled but we never heard him. He walked around the back of the house and saw some shutters off but never saw me. He then went completely around the house and entered the pool cage with gun drawn. I never heard or saw him until he yelled to me. I was deep in focus and as I turned I was startled as I was holding a drill which resembled a gun. I use it to turn the screws holding the shutters. I jumped and he turned his weapon down. We were both surprised but it could have been worse. We talked a bit and he made his report. It seems that there was a group of thieves who were ran sacking homes that were not being lived in and as he was alone he drew his gun.

Theresa came out and we had a laugh as we had proof that the security system actually works.She was a little upset as she rarely makes mistakes like this one, specially when it costs $25 for a false alarm. The officer departed after a good visit and we went about our business of getting settled in. The next day we went to the police station to pay our fine and we were met by a volunteer at the desk. As she heard Theresa making her appeal she wrote off the fine. It seems that the police are in negotiations and being lax with misdemeanors. We learned a lesson and we hope to do better in the future and I hope never to look down the barrel of a gun again.