Just a note:

To the young man from out of town who rang our doorbell 4 times last night beginning at 11:50 p.m.: I am glad you picked our house with the porch light on instead of the one belonging to our gun-toting neighbor. You must have been very tired and a bit scared to be lost in a strange city at that time of night after riding the Greyhound all day. I am also glad that all you wanted was to find your mama's house, and not to hurt anyone in ours. I hope you found your Mama's house.

But you should know that you did freak us out, and make me glad you rang our doorbell on a night when my Man was home- if he hadn't been, I would have had to call the police instead of answering the door to you. You should also know my Man was holding a huge walking stick with a metal cap behind his back, and was prepared to beat you to a bloody pulp if necessary. After you left, it took us quite a while to get to sleep, and it is going to be hard for me to go to sleep tonight, when my Man *is* away.

And I have a tip for you- in this city, it is probably best not to tell folks to call the police to help you if they are a tad reluctant to help, because the police may not have given you the type of help you were asking for- I'm just sayin'. I am also sorry that our world is such that we had to think twice (thrice, actually) before we opened the door to you.

But ultimately, I am glad you rang our bell- at that precise moment, both my Man and I needed a reminder of what truly is important in our lives, and how important we each are to each other, and you provided us with just that reminder when you scared the crap out of us by ringing our bell 4 times! Thank you, young man.

Sincerely,
The lady willing to let her Man open the door to you.