The "An Alarming Experience" Story

It was an ordinary day.  3:00 am and my wife was tugging on my arm with the news that our house alarm is going off.  I finally realized what she was talking about after waking from my deep sleep.  What to do?  The story goes way back to 1996 when we moved to our Beach House on Harrington Drive.  Our daughter was still living with us at the time and she said she was scared to be in our large new house without us home.  So, we decided to get a security system.  Called ADT and before long we had sensors on all doors and glass break units on both floors.  After a year or two I had a need to call the company and found they were located in Georgia.  Decided to look for a local company and found Yarnell Security.  Great local company that is very user friendly.  A year or two later, after my daughter had married and moved out of our house, my parents were house and pet sitting while we were on vacation and somehow set off the alarm.  Didn't know what to do even though I had written exactly what to do on a piece of paper for them.  I found out later that the local police arrived within a few minutes and cautiously came to the back door.  Saw mom and dad and shut off the alarm for them using my directions.  Then they told them I needed to have my license to have a security system displayed by the alarm box.  What license?  I called and they said they would give me a week to get the license and have it displayed or I would be cited.  I know...ignorance of the law isn't an excuse.  Well, the alarm was still going off when I grabbed a baseball bat and headed down the steps.  Lights were turned on and all doors were locked.  By now the alarm company was calling asking if I needed help.  My wife said she would feel better if the police came, so the alarm company called them.  Two officers searched the house and found nothing, but while they were here they got a message saying a woman had called in the next block saying someone was walking around on her first floor.  Off they went.  The alarm company called and said the alarm says that the circuit leading to the garage was the culprit.  Then I saw that part of the unit had come loose, probably from closing and opening the door for over 20 years.  I corrected the problem, but the alarm company arrived the following day to check to see if it was OK.  The repairman found that the back door sensor wasn't the problem.  A connection in the basement panel had separated due to a break in the wire.  He fixed it and off he went.  We've talked about discontinuing the alarm, but feel safer knowing that someone is watching out for us and responds quickly if we don't call them within a minute of two.  Oh yeah, luckily I now have my license right next to the alarm, since the officers checked it out when they made their recent visit.  The sound of the alarm would scare just about anyone away, but I tend to sleep to soundly to hear it until someone is pounding on my arm.  And, pound she did.  It as another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.