From childhood on, throughout life we develop relationships starting with your neighbors, classmates and eventually through work and of course through friends of friends. In high school I met this kid through my girlfriend’s girlfriend. He was a talented kid with lots of potential. I’m not using his real name, so let’s call him John.

John was great to hang with. He was fun and girls loved him. We got to know each other and were great friends, so I thought.

Then,items in my house began going missing. A coin collection, silver ounce bars, jewelry, watches, and a few sentimental items all vanished. I felt like I was losing my mind, assuming I was misplacing everything. None of it was very valuable, but it had value to a 16 year old.

One day when I came home from school, I found my father was freaking out that a ten-pound piggybank full of coins was missing from the kitchen counter. As soon as he saw me, he asked where John was. It was the first time he’d ever indicated that he had a bad feeling about my friend.

My dad called John’s mom, who said he had stayed home sick from school that day, but that she was at work so she didn’t know if he left the house. To this day my dad is certain — and I agree — that John went to my house and took the piggybank, in addition to all my missing items

That was the last day I talked to John. It was also the day when I learned home security systems and safes are integral to any personal security plan.

Since that time, I have invested in SentrySafe fire-resistant safes. Their new Big Bolt Safe is the best they’ve made in 80 years. Check it out.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal and Home Security Expert for SentrySafe. See him Discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.