You’ve been hearing and reading about home invasions. News of that sort makes homeowners feel uneasy. Just remember that the law requires you to "retreat" from trouble away from your home. But when you are at home — in your castle — you no longer have a duty to retreat. You have a right to defend yourself.

Such was the case with a small boy 20 years ago in the Upstate. Mikey was home alone after school watching cartoons on the television when he heard somebody banging on the front door.

The boy looked out the kitchen window and saw two "rough looking" men trying to force the front door open. Soon they gave up and left in a red pickup truck. Mikey, frightened by the incident, went back to his bedroom for the .22-caliber rifle his daddy gave him for Christmas. The boy loaded the rifle with four rounds and went back to the living room to resume watching cartoons.

A short time later Mikey heard sounds coming from the dining room. He went to check and saw the same two men climbing in through the window. Frightened, the 11-year-old tiptoed to the bathroom and planned to crawl out through the bathroom window. But from the window he saw the red pickup parked in the back yard.

Not knowing what else to do, Mikey peered down the hallway and saw the two men carrying electronics from the living room. At the same moment, the men spotted Mikey. They dropped their loot and started down the hallway toward the boy.

Mikey quickly raised his rifle and fired three shots. Both men stopped in their tracks, turned and ran for the front door. The boy went to the phone and called the cops!

Checking the property, deputies found one dead man lying face down near a woodpile with two bullet holes in his upper chest. The second dead man was seated behind the wheel of the pickup. He’d been shot once in the head.

The county coroner said the boy acted properly; "His life was in danger, he looked for an escape, but could find none."

Editor’s note: Maybe Mikey should be considered a candidate for captain of his Neighborhood Watch program.