Todd, I Presume

Todd, I Presume

Every day we take risks and we try to manage them as best we can. We do not live in a perfect world and no matter what we do, we cannot live life without some risks. Hopefully we minimize the big risks and get lucky for the rest. Can any of us do better than that on a day-by-day basis? When it comes to personal household security some people believe in fortification. That usually begins with site selection. What is it they say about real estate? Isn’t it something like location, location and location? In this part of the world that means several things. What town do you live in and how secure is it in general? Where are you located in town relative to your neighbors? Are you isolated in a good way or a bad way? Do you have a fence? Do you have a driveway gate? Do you use your driveway gate? Do you have security cameras and how sensitive do you have them set? What kind of alarm system do you have? Is it a central station or something less involved? Do you use your alarm system regularly or do you get lazy. And then, last but not least, do you believe in and keep weapons in the home and what would it take for you to brandish them?

In the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, personal security is pretty much on par with food and shelter as a basic requirement of life. In general we all tend to take personal security for granted, right up until something happens. This is where opinions have always and will always diverge. Some believe that one must bear arms to protect oneself. That is the basis of the whole Second Amendment issue we argue every day. There are an estimated 1 billion small firearms in the world, or which 85% are owned by civilians. The U.S. has a disproportionate share of these guns with about 400 million. Surveys show that 40% of American households own a gun (actually, usually multiple guns). This is not an exact measure because deeply rooted in the American law (going back to Revolutionary times) is the law that forbids a central registry of guns. That said, it is estimated that 22% of the population (72 million people) own guns. How strange that that number so closely matches the Trump voting numbers for 2020.

When asked why they own guns, only 38% say it is for hunting and 67% say it is for personal or household protection. Clearly there is a view that they are somehow safer with a gun in the home, despite the fact that research consistently shows that households with guns are markedly less safe. This is due to accidental deaths, suicides and domestic homicides. I have always contended that the risks a gun owner takes when he/she tries to defend their home does nothing but add risk either through inciting intruders to violence or causing self-inflicted injury. And yet, now during the COVID-19 pandemic, gun purchases are hitting historic highs, presumably because it makes some people feel safer. A study by the University of Washington in 2016 shows a direct correlation of gun deaths to gun ownership. The U.S. is the outlier among developed nations and clings to its wrong-minded belief that owning a gun makes their household safer. It simply doesn’t. Research over and over shows that effective self-defensive use of guns is rare. A Harvard study showed that less than 1% of 14,000 crimes from 2007-11 involved effective self-defense with a gun. Meanwhile, homes with guns have far higher (double to triple) incidence of homicide and suicide.

It is particularly troubling that gun purchases in the few months leading up to the 2020 election peaked and in August, exceeded the entirety of 2019. We are clearly living in a world out of control and gun ownership is just adding to the problem rather than protecting anyone.

Here on our little hilltop, one of the things we liked about the property was that it is NOT in a gated community, an elitist concept that offends my personal sensibilities (note that this is a highly personal view based on the fact that I have never had a problem to make me feel otherwise and I am aware that others feel quite differently and have every right to do so). I do have a mechanical driveway gate, but we only use it when we are away and have not had it closed once in the past year. Since we live on a cul-de-sac with only four houses, two of which are beyond our driveway, we are acutely aware of any traffic down our road. We also subscribe to the Next Door App, which is a community site where people report lost dogs and security concerns. We hear of car break-ins and package thefts now and then, but I cannot tell if we are better or worse than any other community in America. So my neighbor Winston, who lives at the end of the road and I have a deal that we watch each other’s property should we notice any unusual activity.

Today in the late afternoon, Kim told me there was a black car parked on our road at the base of our driveway. It caused me to decide to go water the ice plants I have been cultivating across the road. Strangely enough, I water them every Sunday night, so the trip downhill was not even out of the ordinary even though it was prompted by the mysterious car. As I walked down and started pulling out the hose, I saw Winston, looking like he was out for his afternoon walk, walking up the road along with another man, having a friendly sounding chat. The man introduced himself as a neighbor who lived in a house down the hill. His name was Todd, and he had a great interest in our extensive cactus garden. He asked if it was alright to take a few pictures. The presence and familiarity of Winston, a long-time community leader and activist, made it all seem OK. Then Winston asked about the buffalo and when I started to explain where I was with the project, Todd simply asked, “Could we take a look at it?” It caught me flat-footed, so I agreed.

We went down to the back hill and I found myself telling both Winston and Todd about my buffalo, about the progress on my deck, about my new agave mural and generally about my back hillside plans. Todd learned a lot more about my property than I would have ever told a new acquaintance due to Winston’s presence. Winston is a very curious and friendly neighbor and us retired guys with too little to do and lots of household projects on our mind gotta stick together, right. When we came back up to the front of the house, Todd noticed the patio and the Madagascar Bottle Tree, which is hard not to notice, being a magnificent specimen planting that has aged well. Todd asked if he could take a few more pictures and I said, why not. As I grabbed my hose to start my watering regime and Winston set off on his walk, Todd said his goodbyes and drove off with a wave.

Todd lives just outside our formal neighborhood even though I am familiar with his house and drive by it daily. After he drove away, Winston told me that he had seen him parked and walking around and had purposefully came out to intercept him to see what he was up to. He had never met him before. From my fifteen minutes with Todd, I presume he is a nice liberal fellow who moved here from Miami and just finished planting 100 olive trees on his little hillside. He said he was all that and I have no reason to doubt him. I am a trusting person who chooses to be that way. I look forward to getting to know Todd over time and just hope that he wants to replicate my property in his landscaping plans with all those pictures. If I find my Madagascar Bottle Tree missing some day, I will know my trust was misplaced, but at least I know that no gun would have saved me from that fate.