Friday, June 2, 2017

AFTER MAMA BEAR ATTACKED THE NINE-YEAR-OLD BOYS

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

To read TWO NINE-YEAR-OLD BOYS, click HERE.
To read WHAT DO NINE-YEAR-OLD BOYS DO WHEN THEY'RE HOME ALONE? click HERE.
To read WHAT I DO WHEN NINE-YEAR-OLD BOYS ARE HOME ALONE, click HERE.

When last we visited, I looked like this as I told the two nine-year-old boys who live behind me what they are not allowed to do:


The boys looked like this:


They went inside. I didn't see them for the rest of the day. I didn't see anyone that night. The house was dark. It looked like this every night for weeks:

Nobody's home                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The white lines are the blinds that I could barely make out.

The boys were quiet. The carousel of smoking and cell phone-talking adults had disappeared.

I told Willy Dunne Wooters about the miracle. He said, They must be keeping it on the down-low because they have reason to fear the kids will be taken away from them.

If my yelling at the boys and calling the police caused them to stay inside and––I hope––caused the adults to keep an eye on them, then I did the right thing. It was the only time I've ever called the police about a neighbor, not that I know who these "neighbors" are. 

Something kind of odd did happen one night after many nights of peace and quiet. I went out in the dark with Franklin and Penelope so they could have their before-bed potty, and I spotted a man standing in the backyard of the house where the boys live. I had enough light on my deck to see that he was staring at me. Did he know that I was the one who called the police? Was he angry? I didn't care.

I put my hands on my hips the way my mother used to do when she was angry and I stared right back at him. In fact, I stared him down. Before long, he went inside the house.

Occasionally, I see the boys and an adult or two use the backdoor as they make their way around the house to the front, but the climbing and yelling have ended, along with the conclusion of the carousel.

Now I look like this:



Boys, don't bother Mama Bear while she rests. She will make you sorry.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug



36 comments:

  1. Good for you for standing your ground. I hope the adults did change their ways. I feel sorry for young children who have to raise themselves, but that doesn't give them license to behave the way these two boys did.

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    1. I think they were just having fun and didn't realize that it could lead to serious trouble. They needed someone to set them straight. It's not my usual approach to dealing with children, but I own my house and they are renters. One of these days, I hope they go elsewhere.

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  2. Hi Janie - well done ... long may peace and quiet reign. Take care and enjoy the weekend - Hilary

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    1. Thank you, Hilary. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

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  3. Ah, Mama Bear has peace... Yay!
    Hope it remains peaceful. Be careful though: be mindful of any kind of food coming over the fence and keep your dogs away from anything that comes over the fence. People scare me. What did the police say to them? Do you have any way of knowing?? So curious! :)

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. I don't have any way of knowing what happened with the police, but I still watch for anything that might come over the fence. When the dogs go out, I go out with them.

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  4. Quite frankly, I'm amazed it worked. But good for you that it did!

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    1. A couple of people suggested in their comments that something more serious than child neglect is going on over there. They could have many reasons to fear police involvement.

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  5. Hurrah! Victory is Mama Bear's.

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  6. Aww, I was hoping that the police would have raided the place and taken children and adults to a maximum security prison!

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    Replies
    1. Maybe that's where they were when the house was completely dark and I didn't see anyone.

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  7. I honestly doubt their concern was for the boys being taken away. I suspect that they might have greater concerns of some nefarious origin about the police showing up. Just my opinion. ;)

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    1. You're probably right. We have friends who used to live in a neighborhood near here. At one point they had a neighbor who was dealing. He was robbed of a large amount of cash that was in his house. Then he moved away. Later they had a neighbor who had porn shoots in his house. Our friends moved away. They have young children. It wasn't a good environment for kids.

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  8. Mama bears are not to be messed with. Ever. I hope this peace continues for you.

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    1. If my peace is interrupted, then everyone will know.

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  9. Thank goodness you were able to resolve the issue, Janie. Noisy neighbours can totally destroy one's quality of life. Their living situation is definitely odd and I can't help feeling a little sorry for those boys. Long may your peace and quiet continue!

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    Replies
    1. I feel sorry for them, too. I'd much rather be kind to children.

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  10. Probably scared to death of you now. Or maybe they moved out.

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    1. They definitely still live there. I hope I terrified them.

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  11. It makes one wonder what the adults are so afraid of ... any drug dealing going on, I wonder? It can happen in the most innocent-looking neighbourhoods. Or maybe they're just jerks.

    Those pictures are hilarious :)

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    Replies
    1. My neighbors on my street are all nice. One street over though, it can be totally different.

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  12. Couldn't you find a more flattering picture?

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  13. Victory! (and I hope not the calm before the storm)
    I find brazen children to be one of my very least favorite things.

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    Replies
    1. At least they weren't brazen enough to disobey me.

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  14. Well for you the outcome has been good and hopefully the boys didn't cope a lot of shit by the waste of space adults in their lives

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  15. You sure have some big teeth!

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  16. Okay, so I had to read all of the parts of this saga to catch up, and all I can say is, "Good for you!" It takes a lot of guts to make waves with shady neighbors in this day and age, so I'm really glad your story had a peaceful quiet ending. Maybe they'll move on soon. (You are now officially my favorite mama bear.)

    Have a super weekend. (A QUIET one without those boys driving you and the dogs crazy.)

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  17. JANIE the CRUSHER = 1
    neglectful parents = 0
    brazen childern minus 0

    cheers, parsnip and thehamish

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  18. Well done, Janie. Neighbors and their kids can make your life a living hell. So I'm told... But this is not about me.

    Enjoy your weekend,
    Blue

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  19. Good for you! kids get away with too much now they need to learn boundaries.

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  20. YAY! So glad your approach worked and that you have peace now. :)

    Love,
    Jessica

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  21. Ohhhhhhhhhhh, so YOU'RE that kind of neighbor?
    Well, good for you, because my brothers and I were that kind of kids.

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  22. Phew!!! And no bears were even harmed in the making of this

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