It's annoying, unpleasant and, to be blunt, a real pain in the ass to be distracted by childish silliness while the world is in chaos. Yet here I am, so consumed with a nasty encounter with a neighbor that I'm wondering if it's safe to start up my car this morning.
The dispute began over the need for someone to feed our cat for an upcoming weekend away. I contacted a teenage girl in the neighborhood who I had never met but whose parents attended our holiday open house last December. She responded with a voice mail message saying she could do it, but said little else. Then she never returned my second call asking her to come over and see the house, meet the cat and learn the details of the job requirements. After a full day of silence, and with our trip a day closer, I asked a different neighborhood teen if she were available. She said yes and in short order came over to meet the cat and learn the scope of the job being asked of her. I hired her on the spot.
After I called the first girl to tell her I had found someone else, her father went ballistic, if one can be said to "go ballistic" in an email. The worst part is that he's a cop, and his clearly bizarre and off-kilter reaction helped me understand the string of questionable murders by several of our Men in Blue that gained national attention over the past couple of years. Many in the law enforcement field really do have a short fuse, and this particular neighborhood cop is surely one of those. His inappropriate and volatile reaction to us choosing another 16-year-old girl over his daughter to feed our cat for three days was a chilling reminder that you never know whether someone's simply got a screw loose or is all the way to a loose cannon.
My advice for survival in today's jittery culture echoes that given to me by my grandmother years ago when I was a college student riding the subways of New York City: Keep your head down, avoid all eye contact, go straight home and lock your doors.
The dispute began over the need for someone to feed our cat for an upcoming weekend away. I contacted a teenage girl in the neighborhood who I had never met but whose parents attended our holiday open house last December. She responded with a voice mail message saying she could do it, but said little else. Then she never returned my second call asking her to come over and see the house, meet the cat and learn the details of the job requirements. After a full day of silence, and with our trip a day closer, I asked a different neighborhood teen if she were available. She said yes and in short order came over to meet the cat and learn the scope of the job being asked of her. I hired her on the spot.
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| Even good cops get a little testy after awhile. |
After I called the first girl to tell her I had found someone else, her father went ballistic, if one can be said to "go ballistic" in an email. The worst part is that he's a cop, and his clearly bizarre and off-kilter reaction helped me understand the string of questionable murders by several of our Men in Blue that gained national attention over the past couple of years. Many in the law enforcement field really do have a short fuse, and this particular neighborhood cop is surely one of those. His inappropriate and volatile reaction to us choosing another 16-year-old girl over his daughter to feed our cat for three days was a chilling reminder that you never know whether someone's simply got a screw loose or is all the way to a loose cannon.
My advice for survival in today's jittery culture echoes that given to me by my grandmother years ago when I was a college student riding the subways of New York City: Keep your head down, avoid all eye contact, go straight home and lock your doors.
i believe all people who become cops are bullies who want permission to do it full time
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