24 Hours

I love living in the hood because we have made friends with some of the parents of kids The Boy has befriended. Some of our friends also live here. Over the years, everyone has become friends.

Last night, when I dropped The Boy off at his friend Curly's for the night, Curly's parents invited me to stay for a bite. I did so and had a nice visit. In the middle of this, the subject of our mutual friend and neighbour, Outrageous' son, came up. Recently, he got into some trouble with the police over nothing. There was a court date yesterday. Curly's mom, Super Curly, phoned Outrageous to get an update.

The human perspective: He and his friends painted a beautiful red dragon over swastikas.

The police perspective: He and his friends vandalized public property with graffiti.

Heartache for his parents in the last few months. Yesterday, a judge with good common sense and a balanced perspective on life dropped all charges and all conditions against the young man. We are all relieved.

Super Curly is a fish enthusiast. We made arrangements to go a pet shop today that specializes in fish and acquariums. When we got back to Super Curly's house after the pet shop, her husband, Trim, was outside, talking to Red, Outrageous' husband. Trim said,

"The Boy and Curly just drove off on their bikes. You just missed them."

"Where were they going?"

"Back to your house."

I joined Trim and Red for a bit, and after, Red and I walked back to his house where Outrageous was planting a tree.

Outrageous and I sat in their garden while Red made us coffee and corned beef hash! I got a visit and I got fed. While chatting, I received a call on my cell from The Man in Yemen. So far away and still part of my day in the hood. Then Outrageous, Red and I walked back to my house. Outrageous and Red continued on to the local supermarket.

Inside, The Boy and Curly were playing Warhammer with Jock and Harry Potter. They were noisy! I made a few phone calls and cleaned up a bit. Curly and Jock left. Sis came over. The Boy, Harry Potter, Sis and I then headed to a sumptious dinner in Chinatown. Such good company and good food.

So many nice moments in the last 24 hours. Lucky me.