TheBanyanTree: Waiting

[Margaret R. Kramer]

We’re waiting for rain.  The sky is teasing us this morning with dark clouds
that are projecting a humid feel to the air.  We had some splats and splots,
but they don’t add up to a soaker.  I’m planning on dragging the hoses
around the yard and garden today to keep the flowers in the bloom and the
tomatoes ripening.  I don’t have to cut the grass.  The grass is too dry to
grow.  I also don’t have to vacuum or sweep the kitchen since our house was
cleaned yesterday.  Two big chores that I can cross off my list.

At least two, possibly three boys live behind us.  I would say they range in
age from 9 to 12.  They’re polite boys.  They say “hello”, “how are you”,
and “we’re sorry” when they smack a baseball into my butt.  And that’s the
problem – baseballs flying into our yard.  Just after we moved in, Ray and
the polite boys used dog kennel chain link panels to give our fence height,
kind of like building our own backstop, to stop most of the baseballs from
coming into our yard.  We still got a few balls, but we threw them back over
the fence.

Well, now that the boys are out of school, more balls are coming over the
fence.  And they’re hitting them harder.  The balls slam against our garage
and have made at least 15 or 20 good dents on the new siding.  I heard a
couple of hard thuds last night while watching the Twins lose to Texas and I
thought our black cat was chasing a fly or something upstairs, but then I
realized it was a couple of baseballs that were rocketed into our house
because I saw the offending balls laying in our yard and the boys were
nowhere to be found.  It’s only a matter of time before they hit and break a
window.

I was going to talk to their mother today, but Ray suggested we try the
passive-aggressive approach first, which is to not to return the baseballs.
He gathered three balls from our yard last night and put them into the
garage.  I don’t think baseballs are cheap, so I’m hoping that they can’t be
replenished that often.  Plus, once the balls are gone, they can’t hit our
garage and house anymore.

I know the boys aren’t being malicious and probably have no idea that we’re
now finding this irritating.  It’s one of those things that kids do that
their parents ignore.  I’m sure their mother is very aware of the baseballs
flying everywhere, but she continues to let them smack the balls into our
buildings.  We have a park not a block down the street which has three
baseball fields.  Why don’t they go there and swing to their hearts’
content?  But without parental guidance the boys will continue their assault
on our property.  I keep telling myself in a couple of years, baseball will
not appeal to them and they’ll be doing something else.  Wait and be
patient, hang in there, kiddo, and hope the passive-aggressive approach
works.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
~Albert Camus