Two men apparently followed Mrs. Gregg to her McLean, Va., home. When she pulled into the garage, she left her garage door open and went indoors. The men entered the house through the garage, threw down Mrs. Gregg, and tied her up face-down on the floor.

After the men stole several valuables, she persuaded them take her to the bank. She withdrew $5,000, gave it to the robber, then ran into a hallway, locked herself in a restroom, and called police.

The men were eventually arrested and the stolen items recovered. The men are also suspects in four other similar robberies.

Editor’s Note: Stories like this ably demonstrate the need for security features on garage doors and openers.


Repair Delay Results in Near Disaster

Before the party, her garage door needed service, but she delayed calling her door dealer. To open the door, she says, “We had to push the garage door button and pull up on the garage door at the same time.”

For the party, a piñata was hung in the garage near the opener. When a guest swung at the piñata, the bat caught the emergency cord, and “the garage door fell instantly like a ton of bricks.”

Luckily, none of the 12 little girls was directly under the door. She warns readers, “If your garage door has the hiccups, don’t go anywhere near it.”

Editor’s Note: A better idea is to call for service sooner!

“It’s the main point of entry for the house,” the homeowner replies. “Coming in through a dirty, dingy garage is depressing. With my garage, it’s a completely different feeling.”

Citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the story says an estimated 1.3 million garages were converted into some type of living space in 1998.

Editor’s Note: If the garage door is now the front door of the house, why shouldn’t people pay as much for a garage door as they pay for an entry door?

In October, Jackson woke up to find his two Mercedes gone from his garage. The thieves apparently broke into his car parked outside, retrieved the garage door remote control, and then gained access to the two expensive autos.

That same day, the OnStar tracking device inside Jackson’s cars led authorities to the thieves, who had already started stripping the vehicles.

Editor’s Note: Remind your customers that a remote control in an outside car is a key to the garage and possibly to the house.

Garage Door as Movie Screen?

In this editorial, Magid tells of hosting a neighborhood “outdoor movie night” at his home on a warm August night. He set up a DVD player and a video projector and hung a sheet on his garage door.

After dark, neighbors sat in his driveway as Majid started “Singin’ in the Rain” on DVD. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds were soon dancing on his garage door.

Majid said he checked with Warner Brothers’ legal department to confirm that his free exhibition was legal, as long as “the guests are not outside your family or your normal circle of acquaintances.”