Egged!

I recently had words with a young man in the neighborhood. He got my attention when I heard screaming and looked out to see him dumping a smaller kid into my garbage can. The conversation went something like this:

ME:  WHAT ARE YOU DOING!

HIM: (dumb look; no answer)

ME: WHY AREN'T YOU IN SCHOOL - OR AT WORK?

HIM: No school today.

ME: You need to work, do something useful.

HIM: I can't work. I'm 15. Nobody'll hire me.

ME: So - babysit, mow lawns, clean house, clean up a park somewhere....

Oh, the frustration of dealing with adolescents. When I calmed down I realized that, yeah, this kid's stupid, but I was pretty stupid when I was 15 too. Kids have to go through their stages, and most of them do come out of it OK. To my amazement.

Anyway, I'd forgotten the incident until last night, when an egg hit my front window. I suspect the thrower was this kid, but didn't see anyone.

This morning I got out the spray stuff and cleaned it off, happy that this is Florida and the egg didn't freeze. Also, a second egg landed in the yard unbroken, and the kid did not hit either car parked in the driveway.

I'm grateful that crime in my neighborhood is at this level.

And Caroline says:

Love people through whatever the hell is wrong with them!

God bless teachers. And God bless the public schools that keep 15 year olds busy at least some of the time.