My Foolish Big Mouth.

by Joyce Ann.

(U.S.A.)

We are advised not to open the door to a caller without first looking to see if we know the person, and if we don’t recognize who it is, don’t open the door. Wise advice.

Of course I did not check who had rung the bell. Mind, if I had looked out I would not have been suspicious, even though I did not know him. There wasn’t anything threatening about him although I did note that he seemed to have one too many layers of clothing for the warm weather. He was clean shaved, had neatly trimmed sandy hair and a easy, but shy smile.

When he spoke his voice was soft and a little nervous. After some sort of apology for calling he immediately started asking questions about a house down the street. The house in question is a little run down but by no means derelict, and I knew that at least one guy lives there but had never spoken to him.

The caller asked if I knew the guy’s name, I told him I did not. He then started asking if the guy’s name was this or was his name that. As I’d already told him I didn’t know the name of the occupant, this line of questioning started to annoy me pretty quick. Then it hit me that I was giving information to a stranger about a neighbor, I’m perhaps a little slow to become suspicious, but I became suspicious then.

It dawned upon me that I had told this stranger that I thought the guy lived in his house alone and was out of the house, probably at his work, for most of the day. What a stupid thing to do. I started to back peddle on the story, saying that there maybe another guy that lives in the house with him. Just as I am trying to think of a way to rid myself of this suspicious stranger, I heard a very loud yell coming from the back of the house.

Slamming my door I ran through to the back of the house and through the kitchen window saw my neighbor in my yard. He told me that he had surprised and chased off a prowler. I hurriedly told him about the stranger I had left out the front of the house. You can guess that when my neighbor went to my front door the suspicious stranger had vanished.

We phoned the police who spent some considerable time patrolling the area but the two men were not found.

My caller was obviously keeping me talking to keep me away from the back of the house so his partner in crime could make a break in. Maybe also they were finding out if the house up the street was empty all day. My blabbermouth told them what they wanted to know all too easily. Now, I do not open my door before checking who is there, and if I don’t know the person the door stays shut.