“Go home you Brats, if I
see you on streets I will call the cops.” I heard a female screaming while
I was stepping out of my community for an office dinner. I turned back and by the time I reached the
place the kids were all gone and she was sitting in her car with a victorious
smile on her face. She really thinks she has won?
Just 10 minutes before this
happened; I had stepped out of my house to walk to the dinner venue which was
not too far from my house. The first
site was the little bikers. 8-10 kids all in the ages of 5-9 years riding their
bicycles in the community. Our community which is a very safe, walled and gated
complex and very kid friendly (well! usually). I walked few steps and they caught up
with me, I could hear their voices. I kind of eves dropped on the conversations
to know what they were talking about. I was obviously interested as my 6 year old son is a
part of this group.
“What? you think earth is
the first planet after Sun, NO YOU ARE SOOO WRONG, it is Mercury.” I could hear
my son tease one of his friends. “No it is earth I don’t care where mercury
is.” His friend replied. “That is because you may not know how to spell
mercury.” One of the slightly older kids teased.
“Okay, all of us will name
the planets together in the order of distance from Sun” the same kid commanded. “Mercury, Venus, earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus Neptune.” They all screamed in chorus. “ Hey guys we missed the
asteroid belt, so where is the asteroid belt?”
I could hear one of the kid say but then I was too far to recognize the
voice. However the site of some happy kids riding their bikes and contrary to
my thoughts having a very meaningful chat was so awesome that it lifted my
spirits. I am going to narrate this to my wife and my friends, which was my
instant thought. In this happy mood I reached close to the gate of the
community when I heard the commotion and then the screams from this lady who
was obviously annoyed at the kids. And to my surprise her annoyance was based
on nothing but the fact that kids were playing.
I was getting late so I
had to return to my dinner appointment but before that happened I called my
wife and gave her a 1 minute version of the commotion and asked her to step out
on Balcony to ensure that the kids are taken care of at the same time no
feathers are roughed for the bird from the neighborhood flock.
Couple of hours later when
I returned home, I found that the lady
had gone ballistic on the kids and the parents after I left. She totally
ignored the fact that kids need to play and the fact that all the kids in the neighborhood
were small and extremely well-mannered and ignored the fact that there are
‘drive carefully; children playing’ signs all over the community. She was just
angry to see kids. Sadly we all parents found that it was not the first time
she has done something like that. It has been her attitude in the past also.
Some of the high-schoolers were smiling and remembering how the same lady had
screamed on them when they were in the elementary school age for playing,
running and screaming in the park and things like that which for most are
naturally kid like things.
I also found that she had
threatened some of the parents about dire consequences if kids are seen on the
community street riding their bikes. No one could think what she meant by that,
but after that episode she allegedly drove her car in the community a few times
staring at the kids and the parents. So all that resulted in finally calling
the cops to report the insane behavior. Which we all did.
The cop arrived spoke with
all of us and calmed us down, cracking some jokes and pitying her for not being
able to see the divine beauty in the playfulness of kids. Especially when they
have been showing some great behavior like respecting the elders, taking care
of kids younger than them, talking about solar system and other good things. I
have seen them Stopping at anyone’s house to drink water obviously showing
camaraderie beyond their age.
CASE DETAILS:
9 kids 5 years to 9 years
of age, various religions (Christian,
Muslim, Hindu and Jew), hailing from all over the world (India, Pakistan,
central Africa, Eastern and western
Europe, South America,)
Vs.
1 lady Mid Forties.(origin
un-known, religion unknown as she doesn’t speak much with the neighbors)
VERDICT- Unclear if
the lady was insensitive or plainly insane to miss the divine beauty of seeing
children playing.
My 2 Cents to kids: Kids there will be mean
and unfriendly people in the world who can’t stand the happiness and purity
that you all symbolize. But you have to know, people like that are not too
many. So do not be afraid. Our community has at least 150 adults living in and
only one such person. Like one such person spoilt the game and mood for the
whole community in the same way each one of you have power to lighten up the
lives of hundreds of people. One other big lesson to learn; when you grow up and be an adult, however
good or bad your life situation is please remember this lady and this episode
and use this as a beacon for what behavior is wrong and must be avoided. So now
that you see there is a teaching that you can get from this lady’s behavior
today (How NOT TO Behave) so you should be slightly thankful in your hearts and
pray that she gets peace of mind so that she doesn’t get into this mood again.
Now what are you waiting
for? Kick the stands up and ride your bikes and by the way did anyone answer
where the Asteroid belt is?
