Kids in the hood

There was slight drama in the hood yesterday.

I never handle these things well, I just don't.

I go two ways.

I go 'whatever' and let someone else eventually deal with it.

Or I go and say stupid crap and be all cranky and pissy.

I'm sure somewhere there is a middle ground, an appropriate way to not say things in high-pitched whiny ass cranky voices (how I imagine I sound) without doing nothing.

I really need a Teacher voice. I might ask my teacher friend for some pointers.

But it comes down to, in the end, I wouldn't have to say things in whiny cranky voices if people paid attention to their own kids.

So we have kids in the neighborhood that do stupid things. Of course they do, they are kids.

It's what parents are for. Most parents get that parenting is an active thing... some not so much. I feel some of the kids are good kids who'd do less stupid things if there was occasional parenting.

As for the kids not from the neighborhood, well, they usually get bored and leave.

But what is it with signs and kids? Why must children hang on signs, pull on signs, tear signs down? Is it some inner desire to break down the confines of authority and society, or is it just cuz it's there?

When I was 17, I snagged road cones with some friends and we tossed them out the window.
Then, we stole a Stop sign.

It wasn't easy.

We had to settle on snagging some construction signs first -- they were much easier to pull down and take... and it wasn't until a snow storm blew a Stop sign down a few weeks later that my friend and I were able to um, obtain, one for her. I kept the construction signs. It was because in my mind I envisioned a cool urban bedroom with cool urban signage.

We lived in rural New Hampshire. There wasn't really much 'urban' to it.

So my solution for the hood?

Take down the stupid signs before the kids pull them down on their heads, and put in speed bumps so the idiot adults that speed through will be forced to slow down and less likely to hit one of the blissfully unaware kids that ride on their bikes down the middle of the road.