If it happens again, I'll be ready

As we look forward to Memorial Day later this month, we want to take this opportunity to thank all the men and women who are serving or who have served our country. It's an honor to introduce you to one of our customers. Jim served as a United States Marine from 2000-2004, being stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, and Quantico, Virginia. He was honorably discharged after attaining the rank of Sergeant. Here is Jim's story...

After a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family, my fiancé and I returned home to prepare for the return to work. Nothing was unusual as we unpacked and started making to-do lists for the upcoming week. I stayed up a little later than she did that night, but finally let my head hit the pillow about 2 a.m.

3.5 hours later… it happened. My fiancé quietly woke me up saying, “Jim, there’s someone in the house.” I assured her it was just the wind, as I had heard it while I was still up. She replied, “No, I heard their cell phone go off.” Again, I told her I had left mine in the office, and it had to be mine. At that point she got upset with me and said, “NO! There is someone in the house!”

Not having a weapon of any kind, not even a baseball bat for protection, I shut the bedroom door and called 911. Fortunately they were VERY responsive and arrived with minutes. Unfortunately, I had waited too long to call, and the robbers had already made off with some of our possessions. The police tried to take finger prints, but nothing came of it. They found the point of entry and the tools used to gain access, but there was no chance of catching the guys who stole our most valuable asset… peace of mind.

While I knew that all of the material possessions they took could be replaced, the fact that someone was in my house, while I was in bed, just doesn’t sit well with me. After the initial shock waned, it was time to account for what was missing.

Telling the insurance company what was stolen wasn’t that hard, but proving it was another issue! If it were to happen again, and let’s hope it doesn’t, I’ll be ready. Equipped with a home security system as well as a home inventory from Hartman Inventory, I can prove ownership of all possessions and make the recovery effort much easier!

Thank you so much Mike and Cindy! You’re amazing!