I’m not generally a “Get off my lawn” sort of old person. I didn’t know that my neighbor was out of state until today when he wrote to me and asked me to do him a favor. Around 7:45 tonight, a ruckus outside drew my attention. A herd of younger kids was on our lawns, climbing over our vehicles, and generally misbehaving. I tried to be as cool as a 50+ person can be. I spoke to them in English, Spanish, and a bit of Marshallese, to ask them to be considerate and to be as loud as they wanted in the street or on the sidewalks. I felt old, though, doing the job that the parents of those kids should be doing. I know how this game is played and the adults always lose.
I guess I’m going to need to get out my Halloween mask and scare the absolute #$%! out of some kids as the October nights come early.
If my neighbor installs a camera, I hope the footage of the trespassing kids shrieking for their lives as I jump out from the dark keeps us warm at night – if not laughing.