I don’t wanna give you the idea that the Cops are on my street constantly because they’re not. In fact the last police altercation I’m aware of was close to twenty years back and involved dog guy’s kids, after he had been incarcerated. They were three brothers, ages about five through 13. Decent kids.

Apparently the mom commenced to leave them alone for long periods of time and for whatever reason one morning a Cop knocks on the front door to do a welfare check. The dog guy had boxers, and after the poisoning incident there was one left, a female.

A kid opens the door and the boxer runs out and scares the Cop, who then attempts to shoot it. The good news is the dog was only slightly wounded, but a mailbox across the street took one to the chest.

Only other incident of note involved a kid who was the daughter of a former student from my street. After graduating she became a stripper and married a strip club guy from Houston, two kids.

That didn’t work out so she was back with her mom with her two kids. The little girl was a nice kid, her brother however was clearly a psycho, from an early age.

Nine years old and he’s playing with a lighter in the front room, sets a couch on fire. Doesn’t want to get in trouble so he doesn’t say anything. The mom was out back, comes in smells smoke, sees the fire and runs out the front door with the kids. When she opened the front door the fire really took off.

Fire Department saved the house, but it was heavily damaged. The woman’s mom, a school bus driver, had just paid off the house but had no insurance. Took her about five years to get the house livable again but she finally did.

The grandmother is back living in it again, fortunately the daughter and the two kids ain’t. See, my house sits empty for long periods of time, especially now. And from what I seen of the lighter kid, if anyone was gonna break into my house and make my life miserable it was gonna be him when he hit his teenage years.

Didn’t happen, dodged a bullet, so far.

"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744