jbow
I think there are a lot of really decent people here. I too take the sidewalk, even when the grass has been worn down to dirt. I figure it is a "slippery slope" so I try to be respectful. The last store I was at was the "Dollar Store" down the road... needed eggs and milk. A 20something girl had just left her cart on the sidewalk in front of the store, maybe 25 ft from the cart corral in front of the store. I got out and took her cart and three more, stuck them together and rolled them over to the corral by the door while she and her friend were still sitting there in their car... I figured maybe... maybe something would take in them and maybe in the future they will do the same.... maybe one day. Doing the right think never hurts. People can see someone taking shortcuts and being disrespectful anywhere. You just might influence someone with your actions and never even know it.
As we say in the south Rain, "you done good"!
J
I agree Julien. I'm sure you're one of those genuinely good persons yourself. :)
The upside is that the event provided an opportunity to try and get closer to the neighbors. There's one lady in particular who has taken the whole thing to heart and who's trying her best to create a sense of community. We've started exchanging e-mails, hopefully creating some sort of network and she's been following up w/ the case - she'll be there for the trial next week.
I've read that the couple who first called the police are a bit scared of retaliation - which is not impossible. I myself have been worrying a bit.
It isn't a matter of being victimized. And let's face it - those guys are criminals, they come from the worst part of town, they may be working for a gang or something, so if they came back, it wouldn't be just for tea. There'd probably be a few of them w/ weapons.
One of the first thing anyone studying martial arts will learn is to avoid opportunities to fight if at all possible, to detect any sign of potential danger and to avoid them, if possible. If not, once you're dragged into it, you can't let your opponent take the advantage.
In such a case, this mean responding as promptly as possible before the intrusion is actually completed. For me that's holding them back long enough to make sure my wife makes it to a safe place and gets to call 911. Then, surviving...
Which is why I guess I'm sleeping on one ear. It's a big house, a new place we moved into just 2 months ago, with plenty of new noises for my brain to learn inside and outside the house, and 3 crazy cats who usually start making all kinds of noise the minute we go to bed. Plus, my wife needs her white noise to sleep, so that's kind of working against me.
That's one of the reasons I would have wanted a dog - he could have acted as an extra set of ears and let me know if someone attempted to break in. Or even assist me if need be.