Subtitle: Someday The Delinquent Will Be Old Enough For Prison (then we won't have to worry about him for a while.)
Last night between 10:30 and 11:00pm, someone threw something against the side of the house. It made a very loud noise, startling Mother and myself. Mother was still up, and I had just gone to bed.
Mother called down the hall, "Honey?"
I said, "What was that!?"
Mother said, "I don't know. I'm afraid to open the door, but I'm going to anyway." She opened the door for a few seconds, didn't see anything, and closed it again.
I knew it was The Delinquent - the one who stole $18.00 from me. I told Mother if it happened again, I'd get up, look around outside, and call the Sheriff's department. It didn't happen again, but Mother double checked the locks on the doors.
As Buddy and I were coming in from our walk this morning I saw what he'd thrown and where it hit. If the egg had hit a foot to the left and up 3 inches, we'd be buying a new door this morning. It would have shattered the glass.
There was another broken egg on the front of the porch - we didn't hear that one. And a whole egg was laying on the ground in front of the porch.
Eggs are dangerous weapons when they're thrown with force - just as golf balls are.
I put Buddy inside, told Mother what he'd thrown, and went looking for proof. I walked up the road and found a trail of coins (quarters and dimes), and 3 small pieces of purple duct tape - the same kind I used to tape up my bedroom window on the outside. Then I called the Sheriff's department. They came out; saw what had been done; looked at what I'd collected; and wrote a report.
The Deputies know who did it as well as we do. They freely admit the boy has been arrested many times. And I assume that they, like me, will be glad to see the delinquent come of age. With all the evidence that mounts up over a period of time, it's just a question of when - not if - the boy winds up behind bars for good.
I am buying a shotgun next week - for the protection of my home and family.
