Helping Doris

Late one night about eight years ago, I noticed that my neighbor Doris, a widow  well into her eighties, who was a friendly person who had brought a cake to my house to welcome my husband and me to the neighborhood, had left the garage door open and the light on.  Ordinarily I would not have paid much attention, but I knew there was a door inside the garage that opened inside the house.  I also remembered the tragic story of the man in Cheshire whose wife and two daughters were murdered by hideous people, and I knew that if anyone like that made his way into Doris's house, she wouldn't have  a chance.  She did have a little dog, but unlike my Igor, a 35-pound Blue Heeler herding dog  who sounds loud and mean, her tiny pug would become a victim as well, so I asked for help.  I called the police non-emergency number and did my best to explain that I am not a nosy neighbor but was worried about Doris in case there were any horrible people in the vicinity.  The officer who answered assured me that the department would send someone to check on Doris.  I looked out a little while later and saw that a squad car was parked in front of the house and two officers, a man and a woman, were at Doris's front door.  Shortly thereafter the garage door came down, so the crisis that might have occurred never happened.

Somewhat later on, in chatting with Doris, I mentioned having called the police because I'd been worried about her.  She chuckled and said that when she heard a knock at her door around midnight, she did what any sensible person does - she called the police!