This is in reference to Gerald Pare’s letter (May 3) about intruders with guns.

I agree with him — let them take it all, but disagree with him about wealthier people who have expensive collections or bank deposits in their home. Some business owners go home at night and prepare their bank deposit for the next day. Some of those people have thousands of dollars on hand.

First, I suggest getting a good alarm system with a panic button, and have a surveillance system, also.

I remember one night in Northern California where my wife and I had a small chain of restaurants, 14 to be exact. We had to count receipts at night in our home.

One night, someone had broken into our home before we got there and wanted our bank deposit from these restaurants. My wife was a hero — she got her gun out of her big purse and shot the burglar in the thigh. He immediately fell to the floor and we took his gun away from him and the police department got there in few minutes.

If he had gotten away with that bank deposit from our 14 restaurants, we could not have met our payroll for our employees (50 or more). We probably would have had to go bankrupt, putting many employees out of work.

I really think a gun can be a man’s best friend.

Ronald St.Pierre, Poland Spring