We awoke on a recent winter morning to discover we had been the target of a paintball attack. A whole series of orange “shots” spread across the front of our house as if fired from a slow moving car. Thank goodness the shooter was no closer or we could have been cleaning up glass as well. Double thank goodness it was only paint.
After the police report was filed for both a neighbor and us, and the mess had been washed away, I came out with nice clean windows and doors and a respect for the young police officer who answered the call.
Once back inside and warm again, I got to thinking about how much has changed. Do teens no longer creep into a chosen yard in the dark and toss rolls and rolls of toilet paper over the roof, across the cars and as high into the trees as possible?
Many years ago, the good-looking high school senior who lived across the street was treated to a T.P. party by his admirers on the cheer leading squad. There was so much giggling and “shhhushing” and car door slamming, it woke half the neighbors, but not the teen or his family.
The girls did an excellent job. Morning light revealed a tree beautifully draped with long white streamers gently wafting in the breeze, cars artistically adorned with sort of a plaid pattern, and hedges topped with loops and loops of toilet paper. Just as the teen and his parents discovered the yard decorations, a light rain began to fall. Well, you know what happens when T.P. meets moisture.
By afternoon, the rain had passed as well as a car of whoohooing waving girls as our young neighbor was filling trash bags with mushy, disintegrating tissues while pretending to be annoyed.
Back to our paintballs. Whoever did this was not having fun – at least not fun in a normal sense. (We have a strong suspicion who the culprits are.) It was done out of malice … a way of “getting even” for long-past imagined injustices. How sad.
Too bad we can’t turn back the clock for our young people and let them flourish in a world of innocent T.P. tossing – and put away the guns.
© Copyright 2007 Suzzwords
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very much enjoyed, if that's the right word, this post. i am saddened by the nastiness growing in american culture. first began to see it in commercials that purported to be funny but were only at someone's expense.
ReplyDeleteyou're very even about this awful event; last paragraph says it all.
I'll never understand why kids choose defacing someone's property as a way to retaliate or get their revenge. What in their thinking process tells them that it's okay to do that? I guess you really were lucky that it was ONLY paint and that you didn't have more major damage done to your house. Sorry this happened Suzz; but glad it was easily remedied.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with naomi's comment. I think we grew up in the best of years and how sad that our once proud, moral Country has been reduced to the filth and violence that now seems the norm.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Life was so much better when parents taught their kids respect, manners, .....
ReplyDeleteSo sorry it happened to you.