Lock-down

I was raised in a small town in S. Florida,
in a time that totally felt secure.
The car keys always stayed in the ignition
and the side door of our house was the door everyone used.
We never locked it. It seemed, anyone that didn't know us
would come to the front door. It stayed locked and we felt safe.
That was the 60's and of course, times changed fast.
We started locking things little by little.
Now, I am living in Costa Rica where "if you don't lock it,
you don't got it", it's gone and no one saw a thing.
Sure, I can still count how many times I've been robbed
but it's adding up and I am really careful these days!
Living here, you have to take precautions you would never
dream of in the States.
My car, for instance, has a security system,
a bar locked on the steering wheel,
it stays parked at my house
behind a 6 foot fence topped with barbwire,
four security lights plus sensor lights,
AND "a few" guard dogs! Sound paranoid?
So far, my car hasn't been robbed since I took these security measures.
The same goes for my house. I've beefed-up
the security enough that I have had no challengers, YET.


When my friends and family saw photos of the barred windows and fence,
they were horrified. They thought it looked like a prison compound.
I did too. At first, I was claustrophobic but then I soon realized,
it made me feel secure and THAT was worth it. I felt free again.
I can leave my house now and not have that sinking feeling I'm being robbed.
I sleep a lot better, too.

I used to tell the guests of the houses I managed,
"Remember where you are".
It was the best advice I could give them.
The moral to the story is....
Don't wait until you get robbed. Be pro-active.
Go ahead and act as if you will be robbed.
Everybody gets robbed here, sooner or later.

For everyone in the States wondering why would I want to
live in a place where you have to have such tight security,
I ask, why would you want to live in a place that has a
bull's eye for terrorist and false security?