# This Is My Castle



## Grinch2 (Sep 12, 2016)

Hello everyone, it's unfortunate to report this, but last Tuesday while heading home I received that phone call no one in general wants to get, let alone a husband who's wife just broke the news to him a day prior she was pregnant. She called was understandably frantic, she tells me " there's two guys here and they're trying to break in ". Our company trucks have GPS devices in them to not only monitor where we are, but also how fast we are going. I was informed today that my truck was recorded going one hundred and forty miles per hour. 

My wife is more than capable of doing whatever it takes to defend herself, she has spent a lot of time focusing on not only hand to hand but combat involving weaponry. Her skills with a firearm are impressive, she has a literal arsenal at her disposal, anything she could possibly want. Not to mention three dogs inside who would give their lives to protect her, our former front door was what was labeled a " security " door. It was more an industrial looking door, it had two deadbolts and two barrel bolts not to mention the knob, all of which she had locked. 

I was over an hour from home, she called the police on the house phone, she told me she was going to lock herself in our panic room and load heavy. She was going to the panic room when I heard gunshots in the background, she tells me flat out " they're breaching ". My heart sank, I did not know what to do, what could I do, all I knew was what I was going to do... 

When I arrived there was not a single L.E.O in sight, it took five rounds from a 12 gauge to open up my front door. My wife was locked down as we had trained to in the panic room. About fifteen minutes later several state police arrive, from the nearest barracks to my house is roughly forty minutes. Now granted, the long line of sinners before me did not have the greatest relationship with the state police, but it took them nearly an hour to arrive. 

This made me sick and disgusted as it would anyone, an investigator told me frankly they would do ballistics and their best, but without anything else this pretty much never happened. 

As a man, how do you take that? Supposed to be the protector, the guardian, the shepherd of fire. It's a mentally corrosive situation. Basically I was an hour away, I was no better than those cops, they could have done the unimaginable, ransacked the house and been in a different state by the time either of us arrived. You never want someone especially one who is emotionally sensitive to have to do something like that. A good friend of mine said it is a horrible thing to have to do, he drilled it in her to see paper targets and nothing more. 

Perhaps I went a bit overboard with my cabin's overhaul, three good friends and myself ripped the door frame and roughly five feet of wall on either side completely out. The steel company I deal with sends me Christmas cards every year, I made the salesman happy that day. Well casing reinforced with drill steel and filled with concrete became the new door frame. From there we used steel and concrete for the walls, overlapping AR500 steel plates in a foot thick of concrete. 3/4 inch AR550 created the skin for the new door which is overlapped 1/2 inch AR500 steel plates back to back. We took ideas from your typical gun safe and used locking bars, twenty in total to secure it, not to mention an accessory door to cover the main if something ever did get through. 

Thankfully something changed these two individual's minds, they did however come prepared for a fight, their truck had the license plate covered, they had plate carriers and ballistic face protection which also masked their identity. One man came carrying what I believe to be was a portable plasma cutter, my wife did yell out of a gun port that she was going to start shooting unless they left immediately. Could they have fought back, absolutely, one had to be what appeared an AR-10, the other of course had a nondescript shotgun. 

Needless to say this morning before my super' learned of what had happened he chewed a pound and a half of meat off of my ass. This has deeply bothered me, but for my wife I feel as though it was a sobering fact to not be dependent on outside assistance, it may be a sad fact of life but the monster that truth is is often ugly. A captain with the state police personally contacted me actually and wanted to clarify that there was no hard feeling between us professionally since my company supervises the safe disposal of a majority of the region's explosive threats. I told him flat out that professionally and personally I would refuse any further involvement with them. 

Last night was the first night my wife was able to sleep soundly since that incident, no further word from the state police. I told her while our remodeling project so to speak was taking place that our castle needs to aid in protecting us as we protect it. Today when I arrived home I passed a welcoming sign made by my wife being who she is, painted oh so beautifully " Abandon all hope ye who enter here ". I gave her an extra kiss for that one. 

Few things are more comforting in life than knowing that your wife is able to sleep comfortably at the home you and her had built together and that she feels safe within those walls of your castle.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Grinch, damn! I don't know what to say other than I'm glad you and your wife are both OK.


----------



## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I worked in the same zone I lived in. If my wife had an issue she called me direct. There was a time or two in those 30 years I just had to say, "Hon, prepare to defend yourself." She had her own firearm with which she was well trained and accurate. I would get there as quickly as I could but eventually we got MDIS terminals and I was limited by law how fast I could go too. You just have to trust them. She never had to fire a shot in anger and I never had to pay for professional carpet cleaning.


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

My biggest fear is that my wife will be alone when the bad, . . . bad guys come calling.

She basically lives in Denial, Ohio, . . . thinking that things have always been good, . . . why would they change??

I've just come (in almost 51 years) to accept the fact that I'm not going to change that, . . . I'll work around it as best I can, . . . and go on.

My son and his wife are basically in the same boat, . . . as are many others I know.

It's good Grinch2, . . . to see the other side every once in a while.

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

This would be a good one for Armed Citizen, NRA. 

Glad you and family are safe.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

*@Grinch2*, it's very good that you taught your wife to shoot. I had the same issue with my wife.

I met my wife when she was still in high school and dating my brother. I rode home to watch a Packer game with my dad, and "bumped" into her in our hallway. I would have never guessed this stilt tall blonde was actually going to marry me!

The problem was that she was raised in the 'burbs and didn't know a firearm from a fire extinguisher. It took a while, but she finally liked 'plinking.' The nice thing about this was that she wanted a handgun that "felt good." I had no problem with that because she chose my nickel plated Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 SPL, and it's still on her side of the bed to this day.


----------



## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Good sir...
I don't mean to call your story into question, and I am relieved that you and yours survived this ordeal, but... there is a glaring question that MUST be asked.

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE?

What on earth would compel two people to arm up, armor up, gear up, and storm your location with all the tools and equipment necessary to rob Fort Knox?
Per your description, these people had two plate carriers, assumed with armor ($300-500 apiece), two ballistic face masks ($300-500 apiece), a plasma cutter ($700-1000), an AR-10 ($500-1000), and a shotgun. They paid no mind to trying to bash the door in, they just started shooting. Zero concern given to the noise they would cause, fully understanding that police response was virtually non-existent, and ready to take return fire from their victim.

So again... What the hell do you have?

Did they mistake your place for something else? Could that be why they left?
Did they appear to have foreknowledge of what it would take to get in and get what they wanted?
Was any other home in the area hit recently?
Will your improvements only solidify their expectation that you are protecting something worth more than their lives?

Your story sounds like a nightmare scenario from a movie. I struggle to understand what would make people invest this much time, effort, money, and risk into breaking into a random stranger's home.
I mean, if you are literally just a man and woman with nothing special, and you get THIS kind of attention, what on earth should the rest of us expect? Are criminals becoming this bad? This is a whole different level.

I'm thankful you are both ok. Damn fine work by your wife to have the right mindset to deal with this on her own. Maybe her actions alone made them rethink their plans. They could have assumed an easier target with just a woman in the home. Good thing mama bear was ready.


----------



## mastermclaster (Jul 3, 2019)

One hell of a read that was for me, Jesus. I'm glad you guys are ok. Your wife is amazing by thew way, that's one of my favorite quotes from the Divine Comedy.


----------



## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

dwight55 said:


> My biggest fear is that my wife will be alone when the bad, . . . bad guys come calling.
> 
> She basically lives in Denial, Ohio, . . . thinking that things have always been good, . . . why would they change??
> 
> ...


I, unfortunately, have a wife who literally grew up right down the road from your wife there in Denial, Ohio. She lived at the corner of Optimism Street and Bliss Avenue.

To make matters worse, I have worked for 9 years a state away. She refuses to want a gun. I have guns there, Locked away, but she refuses to want to shoot them or learn anything.

Sometimes you just have to hope for the best and pick a neighborhood with good people.

She does have a stun-gun in her drawer by the bed....But I'm pretty sure that was to ward me away. It's probably the only thing in that drawer that has a dead battery, for lack of use, by now.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

A friend of mine lives on an 1800 acre ranch in Texas. His driveway is about 3 miles from gate to house. The first time I was invited to visit he and his wife picked us up at the airport and drive the couple of hours to his ranch. After unlocking the gate and driving the 3 miles to his house we get out and he walks right up to his door and opens it up, didn't use a key. 

"C.L"., I said, you keep your doors unlocked all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? His wife laughed and said that they have no idea where the keys even are and if the locks would work if they found them! They live in a beautiful old family farm house thats been on the land for a long time. 

He is likeminded (like most of us! :vs_smile and went on to say that if he or his wife are home, tough shit for the thieves. But if they are not home then he'd rather not have the thieves bust the doors or break the windows just to steal some stuff. He said all his "good stuff" is in safes that a common thief probably wouldn't find. Made sense.

Later on as we ate some steaks and watched the sunset over the Colorado River, I realized that most likely, no one in their right mind was going to come way out here to steal something and risk death when there was way too many easy targets between here and the city...

Just a thought that came to mind...


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Slippy said:


> A friend of mine lives on an 1800 acre ranch in Texas. His driveway is about 3 miles from gate to house. The first time I was invited to visit he and his wife picked us up at the airport and drive the couple of hours to his ranch. After unlocking the gate and driving the 3 miles to his house we get out and he walks right up to his door and opens it up, didn't use a key.
> 
> "C.L"., I said, you keep your doors unlocked all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? His wife laughed and said that they have no idea where the keys even are and if the locks would work if they found them! They live in a beautiful old family farm house thats been on the land for a long time.
> 
> ...


Slippy, did you guys get into the bourbon, before watching the sun set , over the Colorado river, in Texas?:tango_face_wink:

Concerning LEO apathy to crime. I had some dirtbag try to steal my chainsaws. Locked to a tie beam with a logging chain in my barn. They tried cutting the chain with one of my hacksaws. Instead they cut themselves up real well.:vs_laugh:

There was lots of blood and many bloody fingerprints, cops would not even take a look. They didn't get any saws.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Slippy said:


> A friend of mine lives on an 1800 acre ranch in Texas.


Slip, I have a question for you. If your friend has an 1800 acre ranch, why are we out in the world chasing nickels and dimes? I mean, for a few bucks and all that fresh air, you and I should be doing bodyguard work for this man! Yikes, right now we're packing guns for no pay, at all. Consider the facts of the situation! We wouldn't have to buy new clothes or even another wide belt for holsters. We could show up as we normally dress to walk through a mall!

...oh, don't worry about knives, Slip, you name it, I have it...


----------



## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Mad Trapper said:


> Slippy, did you guys get into the bourbon, before watching the sun set , over the Colorado river, in Texas?:tango_face_wink:


Colorado River (Texas)



> The Colorado River is an 862-mile long river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the 18th longest river in the United States and the longest river with both its source and its mouth within Texas.


:vs_cool:


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Kauboy said:


> Colorado River (Texas)
> 
> :vs_cool:


Colorado river never comes within hundreds of miles of Texas, it runs through: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexiforina, before Mexico

Edit: Sorry Kauboy and Slippy, my geography in high school, only said there was ONE Colorado river.

Why is there a Colorado river , named so in Texas? Red river from Spanish?


----------



## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

The Colorado River is the principal river of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico.

Colorado River may also refer to:

Colorado River (Argentina)
Río Colorado, Río *****, a village in Argentina
Colorado River (Potosi), Bolivia
Colorado River (Rondônia), Brazil
Colorado River (Aconcagua), Chile
Colorado River (Costa Rica)
Colorado River (Tempisque River), Costa Rica
Colorado River (Texas), United States

I personally like the Rio ***** one...I'm guessing they mean the African American Rio....but theys all racists down there...damn *****


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> .....Why is there a Colorado river , named so in Texas? Red river from Spanish?


There's a Colorado River in Texas because it's name is 'Colorado River', and......... it's in Texas.









There's no law that says once a river's name is used, it cannot be used anywhere else.


----------



## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

I would move to a better neighborhood.


----------



## Yavanna (Aug 27, 2018)

Someone already asked, but, What do you have in that house? Who knows what is in there? And Who did you pissed off that much. 
It sounds way over what an average burglar would do to rob a house... 
It looks like you have quite some security set up in there, it does call attention. It makes one wonder whats so valuable inside your house (~ not meaning you family, as robbers are always thinking about profits). 
Did you have visitors lately? Sellers coming to your door? Are your friend really trustworthy? Did you piss someone off in a big way?


----------



## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Mad Trapper said:


> Colorado river never comes within hundreds of miles of Texas, it runs through: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexiforina, before Mexico
> 
> Edit: Sorry Kauboy and Slippy, my geography in high school, only said there was ONE Colorado river.
> 
> Why is there a Colorado river , named so in Texas? Red river from Spanish?


No problem, we should all learn at least one new thing every day.
Indeed, the name of the river, like the name of the state, is of Spanish/Latin origin. Literally translated "colored".
Remember, Mexico used to own a large swath of the American southwest, part of the area of the state of Colorado, as well as many of the rivers by the same name, included.
Nearly all of the major rivers in Texas are of Spanish naming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Texas#Major_waterways


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> There's a Colorado River in Texas because it's name is 'Colorado River', and......... it's in Texas.
> 
> View attachment 99065
> 
> ...


O.K. I can draw a map of USA, trace out all the states, and MOST major rivers/mountains. On my own. The great lakes, Alaska and the Hawaii islands.

Does Texas have a Penobscot, Hudson, or Mohawk river too?

Thanks for educating me, never been to Texas.


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> ........ never been to Texas.


You should go there sometime. Visit Paris, London,Moscow, Dublin and Italy.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> You should go there sometime. Visit Paris, London,Moscow, Dublin and Italy.


And you should visit Lexington, Concord, Bennington and Ticonderoga.

I've got Texas friends. Never had the $$$ or time to visit most of USA.

The Texas folk called me a Yankee, I called them Texicans. We got along fine.


----------



## Grinch2 (Sep 12, 2016)

Kauboy said:


> Good sir...
> I don't mean to call your story into question, and I am relieved that you and yours survived this ordeal, but... there is a glaring question that MUST be asked.
> 
> WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE?
> ...


Nothing that stands out, they would need a tractor trailer for the guns and ammo if not a bit more, I'm thinking they may have been after her for what reason I do not wish to even speculate in my own mind. My garage with a few vehicles had a bay door open, access to tools was there, yet no attention was paid to it. I don't think they envisioned taking monetary possessions.


----------



## Grinch2 (Sep 12, 2016)

Yavanna said:


> Someone already asked, but, What do you have in that house? Who knows what is in there? And Who did you pissed off that much.
> It sounds way over what an average burglar would do to rob a house...
> It looks like you have quite some security set up in there, it does call attention. It makes one wonder whats so valuable inside your house (~ not meaning you family, as robbers are always thinking about profits).
> Did you have visitors lately? Sellers coming to your door? Are your friend really trustworthy? Did you piss someone off in a big way?


We all have our enemies, a few close friends are really the only ones who know the majority of what we have who I would trust with my life and who could have easily came in knocked my wife unconscious and took everything they wanted and more. And where I'm located no stray visitors or wandering door to door salesmen.


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> ...........The Texas folk called me a Yankee, .......


Go anywhere in the world and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from North America.
Go anywhere in North America and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from the US.
Go anywhere in the US and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Go anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from the northeast.
Go anywhere in the northeast and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from Vermont.
Go anywhere in Vermont and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say it's someone who puts a slice of cheese on their apple pie.


----------



## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

Grinch2 said:


> I'm thinking they may have been after her for what reason I do not wish to even speculate in my own mind.


If that's the case, you are screwed. It doesn't matter how fortified your house is because you will come out of it. Once out in the open, you are easily picked off by a hidden sniper. Most any chump could take you out at 2 or 300 yards with a cheap bolt action hunting rifle with a cheap scope.

You may want to invest in multiple automated drones with infrared detectors. Have them do a perimeter sweep before you exit the dwelling. You need an armored vehicle also.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

KUSA said:


> If that's the case, you are screwed. It doesn't matter how fortified your house is because you will come out of it. Once out in the open, you are easily picked off by a hidden sniper. Most any chump could take you out at 2 or 300 yards with a cheap bolt action hunting rifle with a cheap scope.
> 
> You may want to invest in multiple automated drones with infrared detectors. Have them do a perimeter sweep before you exit the dwelling. You need an armored vehicle also.


A couple good dogs is better.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Go anywhere in the world and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from North America.
> Go anywhere in North America and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from the US.
> Go anywhere in the US and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from north of the Mason-Dixon line.
> Go anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line and ask a local what a Yankee is, and they'll say someone from the northeast.
> ...


Cheese on my apple pie? WTF!!!! Vanilla ice cream!

Cheese is for eggs/omelets, pasta, burgers, ham and cheese..........

Vermonsters make a lot of cheese, cream, milk, ice cream.....and the best maple syrup.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

KUSA said:


> If that's the case, you are screwed. It doesn't matter how fortified your house is because you will come out of it. Once out in the open, you are easily picked off by a hidden sniper. Most any chump could take you out at 2 or 300 yards with a cheap bolt action hunting rifle with a cheap scope.
> 
> You may want to invest in multiple automated drones with infrared detectors. Have them do a perimeter sweep before you exit the dwelling. You need an armored vehicle also.


Most chumps can't hit a deer at 2-300yds with a good rifle/scope. Practice makes perfect.


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> Cheese on my apple pie? WTF!!!! Vanilla ice cream!..........


That's a Midwest thing. You stole it from them.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> That's a Midwest thing. You stole it from them.


They were still Indian territory when we were milking cows and making cheese/ice cream.

My house and barns are pre-1800s timberframed. I still have the tools to timberframe and know how to do it.

It does suck being infiltrated with slickers, from "da City" and "Basstun".

I forgot "Hartfred"Ct

There are good folks in the hills of NEngland, but the spoor from the cities is making bad:drugs/crime/gangs.

But most of those A-wipes are trerrifiied of the mountains/woods. But now there is white trash too


----------



## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

Damn. I cant fathom the though of my wife or daughters being in this situation.
But, I will say, in my town, cops are on it when a woman calls in distress.. I hope they are on it if any of my loved ones call.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Mad Trapper said:


> O.K. I can draw a map of USA, trace out all the states, and MOST major rivers/mountains. On my own. The great lakes, Alaska and the Hawaii islands.
> 
> Does Texas have a Penobscot, Hudson, or Mohawk river too?
> 
> Thanks for educating me, never been to Texas.


No Penobscot, Hudson or Mohawk as far as I know, but Texas does have a Canadian River! :vs_smile:


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Slippy said:


> No Penobscot, Hudson or Mohawk as far as I know, but Texas does have a Canadian River! :vs_smile:
> 
> View attachment 99073


Thanks Slippy, map was good to describe geography . Never been there, but many Texas friends.

I don't think, northeast has a "Canadian" river? But I could be wrong, again.


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> .........But most of those A-wipes are trerrifiied of the mountains.........


Mountains? In the NE? Sorry..... y'all got HILLS there.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Mountains? In the NE? Sorry..... y'all got HILLS there.


Never been to Mt Washington NH (6300 ft) and it may not be as "tall" as the Western Mountains but damn, it seems like a mean Mo-Fo at times!

https://www.mountwashington.org/


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Slippy said:


> Never been to Mt Washington NH (6300 ft) and it may not be as "tall" as the Western Mountains but damn, it seems like a mean Mo-Fo at times!
> 
> https://www.mountwashington.org/


How can it be a 'mo-fo' when you can _drive_ to the top?


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Steve40th said:


> Damn. I cant fathom the though of my wife or daughters being in this situation.


You've probably done all of the standard things a husband does for his family, but I worried about it, also. I decided to make those various worthless coffee tables into working members of the brood, by hiding weapons in them.

These tables lead to a "fall-back" position. If an intruder has absorbed a few dozen rounds of numerous calibers chasing my wife, he then has to dig her out of a walk-in closet, now a safe room. In that area are stored all my knives (polished beyond a razor) my automatic pistols, an unexhaustible supply of cartridges and cell-phone line to the local cops.

I've told my wife to announce to the Federales upon arrival, "_That rapist is dead..._"


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Back Pack Hack said:


> How can it be a 'mo-fo' when you can _drive_ to the top?


Excellent question my good friend BPH...but the stark reality is that ole Slippy evidently has no idea how to use the slang "mo-fo" in a sentence! :vs_wave:


----------



## NewRiverGeorge (Jan 2, 2018)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Mountains? In the NE? Sorry..... y'all got HILLS there.


Come see me, I can take you some places :tango_face_smile:


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Slippy said:


> but the stark reality is that ole Slippy evidently has no idea how to use the slang "mo-fo" in a sentence! :vs_wave:


Is that such a bad thing? Give you a fer-instance.

After five years inside a MC I had trouble controlling my tongue. My dad had warned me that swearing was like any other 'habit,' that was hard to break. I couldn't finish a sentence without using "f**k" in the simple statement, usually it identified the subject, the person he referred to and the overall topic.

It was like, "_Jake, you MF'er, I ran into your MF'ing sister, and she stiffed me on the MF'ing five bucks she owes me!_"

So, it took me months working in a white collar job--which I hated--but later appreciated since it was my ticket up in the world. I'm glad you can control your tongue and there is a section of speech you are not familiar with. This type of speech is not necessary to learn.


----------



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

NewRiverGeorge said:


> Come see me, I can take you some places :tango_face_smile:


I've probably already been there.


----------



## Grinch2 (Sep 12, 2016)

KUSA said:


> If that's the case, you are screwed. It doesn't matter how fortified your house is because you will come out of it. Once out in the open, you are easily picked off by a hidden sniper. Most any chump could take you out at 2 or 300 yards with a cheap bolt action hunting rifle with a cheap scope.
> 
> You may want to invest in multiple automated drones with infrared detectors. Have them do a perimeter sweep before you exit the dwelling. You need an armored vehicle also.


I welcome any good fight they could offer me.


----------



## Demitri.14 (Nov 21, 2018)

WOW, Grinch2, I would love to tour your castle, But only if escorted


----------

