Instead of words to inspire us this week, we have pictures. I will do my absolute best to give it a try.Madeline sent her two sons out to play. Eric was 12 years old, the older by 15 months and was quite careful about following his parent's rules. Michael was a typical younger child, 10 and soon to be 11. He was spoiled and forgiven most often for breaking rules.
This day the boys had taken their BB guns with them to prowl the abandoned water plant near by. It was the perfect place to shoot out remaining windows and the plant security did not mind since the entire place to was to be demolished eventually.
Michael grew tired of these targets and suggested they take a walk around the new housing development. Eric agreed to this change of path but cautioned Michael not to use his BB gun there. Michael swore he would not shoot the gun unless it was into a tree stump or something like that.
The boys lived across the railroad tracks in a less than fancy neighborhood. They loved to tour this soon to be completed housing addition. They would select one or another fancy house and pretend they were going to live there.
This place was more closely guarded than the water plant and they had to work hard to avoid the security guard here. He was a grumpy, mean fellow and enjoyed running them off when he would see them trespassing.
Eric and Michael heard the guard coming their way with keys jingling and thudding feet. He commanded them to freeze and instead of running them off, he grabbed them both up and actually put his handcuffs on them. This Security guard was playing real policeman. He lectured the boys and advised them of the punishment for trespassers. He taunted them about their rag-tag appearance and promised them their poverty stricken lives would never bring them to live in a neighborhood like this. He ask for their address and neither Eric or Michael replied. He whipped the boys and punched them. The guard then turned them loose and ordered them home, promising to take them both to jail if they ever came back again.
The boys ran home and Michael especially was very angry. As they made their way back to their house, they vowed to return to the housing addition that night and knew what they would do in the darkness. Their pets, a pup and duck, listened to the boys whispering and knew nothing good would come from the promised pranks.
These two pets watched as their boy humans crossed the backyard in the dark heading across the tracks with their BB Guns loaded. Yes Eric and Michael managed to shoot out a multitude of newly placed windows in these houses, laughing as they imagined the security guard's face the next morning. They did not imagine the night security guard was watching. He caught them, grabbed them up and took them to jail. Their mother took the call from the police station and instead of coming after the boys, she sent their father Jacob, a hardworking man who was going to lose a night's sleep over his menacing boys. You can just imagine "the rest of the story".