Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone!
Now, two days after the episode, it all seems pretty surreal. Of course, I'm grateful that everything is safe and sound, but I always try to be grateful for that. The break-in attempt was a wake-up call for gratitude, so in a weird zen way, I'm grateful that the would-be burglar served as my alarm clock. It's given me a lot to reflect on over the last couple of days, and will certainly give me more grist for the mill in days to come.
Some odd reflections - my wife had some funny premonitions (she does that a lot, it's a bit disturbing, but more irritating that she can't have premonitions about the stock market :rolleyes:). The break-in was attempted in what was once a Yoga room where my wife held classes, so it has a door to shut off the rest of the house. For some odd reason, my wife closed that door just prior to the incident. She also brought up the subject of swapping our kid's room with her study, putting our kid's room in the center of the house, the safest of rooms. Also, the day before, she was cleaning the windows, and was trying to remove one of the screens - we couldn't figure out how to do it quickly, so we gave up. We installed new double-pane windows last year, for insulation and sound reduction (since we live one house down from the freeway soundwall). Well, now I know how to get those screens off. What's more, if that perpetrator had chosen another window, it would have been open. :o
I think both my wife and I are trippin' harder on our mutual misperception of what was happening at the moment. We both heard warning sounds and our minds transformed them into what would have been normal. We both got up - not to ward off the burglar - but to find out why the other was slamming the refridgerator door. Refridgerator doors have a distinct sound, nothing like prying off a screen window. And neither of us would slam the fridge door repeatedly when our child was sleeping. In retrospect, the entire episode wasn't as scary as it was just plain disturbing.
A lot of you have commented on guns. I totally respect the right of Americans to bear guns, and even went through a gun phase when I was in college. A lot of my friends were into guns and we went out to the range often. I hung out with a few cops back then. I also used to work gun shows, selling swords. But I've never owned a gun and I don't plan to invest in one now. That's just my personal choice, and the more I think about it, it's based on my own personal quirkiness. I have a lot of swords and such. Even if you don't know me personally, I'm sure you can imagine why I have so many. In fact, I got into martial arts because I like swords. In a weird way, and to be perfactly honest with all of you, I relish the opportunity to grab something out of my weapons rack and use it for real. Of course, protecting my family is important, and if the perp had a gun, well, that would suck. But I'm pretty confident with a short weapon. Hell, I've been practicing with them for years. Even if the perp had a club, I feel I would have the advantage, and that wouldn't just be 'home court'. Besides, I think my swords would be jealous if I got a gun. And I'm a crappy shot.
FWIW, I do have chemical mace somewhere in the house, which I had to use once years ago. It's probably expired now.
What I find really interesting about how this thread is developing is how many of you prefer boken. That would have been my choice too, but now I'm starting to rethink my choice of 'pillow sword'. I'm starting to lean towards something more rapier-like for my right hand. And I'm sticking with my maglite for my left (although now I'm thinking I'll invest in one of the longer C-cell models). I think I'd be far more accurate with a pointy sharp in my right and more punishing with a blunt rod in my left - that would give me the most confidence, were this to happen again. But I'm still reflecting on it.