Rebuttal From a Neighbor Regarding Kids

The following is a letter from Dawn James, who asked that it be published on the blog. Dawn, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It's a good reminder that there are always two sides to a story.

I have tried very hard to be a part of this neighborhood, we tried to help out with the Grand Alliance movement with what little time we had available and I even offered my notarial services for free. My son (yep one of the accused) even spent hours upon hours trying to mow the parks when the community didn’t have the money to hire a landscaper last spring. I can’t thank Jim enough for all of the work he did (and has done) for our neighborhood, and don’t mean this to be a personal affront to him, but would like to provide the “other side of the story”…

In response to the “Grand Firs kids stole lumber from a building site”, and the further insinuation that surely anyone whom would steal lumber would paint vulgar words on the mailbox, here are the following TRUTHS:

1. Two of the three kids involved in this were my boys.

2. The lumber was not stolen, it was scrap. The nails they used were also thrown on the ground for scrap. To prove this point, when my boys (and I) visited with the builder bright and early the following morning (yes, contrary to belief we do discipline our kids and they had a consequence), he confirmed that it was indeed scrap and could they please take it all to the nearest dumpster after tearing their fort apart. In addition, I got a call from the agent who sits site in Phase 3 (Lena) that afternoon telling me how pleasant it was that they took responsibility for their mistake and if they (the boys) would like lumber in the future for their building endeavors to call her and some would be set aside for them! Really sounds like the builder was horribly upset with them huh?!? Now had he been upset, and since he had all of my contact information in addition to my boys being there for a few hours that day throwing the “stolen” lumber away, don’t you think he would have been in contact with me further? I am willing to bet no one would have thought to give another human being the benefit of the doubt that (a) they actually knew what scrap was and (b) that they had acknowledged their mistake to the rightful people the next morning.

3. Now, indeed, the police officer did respond and then came to my house as well as the house of the other child. I personally spoke with the officer whom told me that my boys were nothing but respectful and had willingly offered to tear down their fort the very next morning. He, however, was under the impression that the materials were stolen also. I did not question him much on that until we could speak with the builder the next morning…

I am more than offended that in Jim’s same sentence he insinuated that the very same kids who “stole” the lumber would be so inclined to write on the mailboxes. Like there hasn’t been any vandalism or other problems at all in Phase 3, PLEASE. It’s been a sore subject since we moved here, and multiple problems have been brought up at countless meetings, blog entries, etc.

Just because three neighborhood kids used poor judgment on where to build a fort, they are automatically vandals? That is almost as bad as Pak86 assuming that the kids who broke the real estate signs which, by the way were already broken, would be the very same ones whom would break into their car. Again, I remember a time in the not so distant past where car break-ins were a subject of discussion because our gates weren’t working. Seriously, have you all forgotten what it’s like to be children? Glad there are several people living here that never made a stupid mistake!

My husband and I did see that those signs were broken on Sunday morning and assumed that our boys’ friends had broken them. They were hitting them (NOT SHOOTING THEM) and we promptly woke all of the boys up and sent them out there to repair them. Which at least one neighbor applauded their efforts with and told them they had done a good job repairing them. Again, those two signs were already broken, BUT we didn’t let them off the hook in the least! A message for the agent was left on Monday, but I never heard back and they brought all new signs within a day.

They do indeed play airsoft, have for years, and they have played in the sunken field area by the tree park where other children had also played and made bunkers out of the overgrown weeds there. This area in sunken down, I have walked around in there with them. They all use safety goggles as they are well aware of the injuries that can occur and have not been shooting anywhere near a home or outside of that gulley. However, now that I see that is such strong area of disdain I will have to find somewhere else for them to have their airsoft wars. I’m pretty sure they don’t allow air powered guns at Paul Bunyan, we are members there and I will ask, but the joy in airsoft is not shooting at a target anyway – it’s shooting each other, hence, the safety goggles and thick clothing. Now before someone goes off on me about that, remember I said the area where they have been shooting is in a gulley not towards a house or a park or anything remotely like that. They know the rules, and don’t want to risk losing their $100-$200 worth of guns that they saved up to buy for themselves. I will no longer allow them to play airsoft down there because I see that it is nearly impossible for someone to see them walking down there with their airsoft guns in preparation for their battle without adults assuming that they surely must be up to no good.

So, let’s talk about the adults around here who think it’s fun to bully kids by driving at them full speed while all the while yelling F@$* YOU at the top of their lungs when they get close to my kids outside. Yep, heard it with my own ears, I was outside with them watching them skate. Sorry, that’s not about worrying about the safety of kids there, that’s outright bullying! A little background here about my kids, they love to skate! They are good at it. It’s a sport, no different than baseball, hockey, basketball, etc. that also needs to be played in the street while doing your best to watch out for oncoming traffic…I enjoy having my kids nearby enjoying their chosen sport and they love having me around (pretty rare for teenagers, and definitely not how I felt about my mom at their age). My daughter plays volleyball, would you be so inclined to come at her full speed ahead and swearing at her if she is out there passing a volleyball with a friend? How about all of the kids who like to ride their bikes and do tricks with them? Are you going to come at them like that just because it’s more mainstream? Now, I will admit that my kids should be a bit more attentive and get out of the street faster sometimes, but I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of being a driver (having to watch out for everything going on around you) while being a kid means learning and developing common sense to get out of the way faster. Of course I am concerned about their safety, pretty ridiculous for anyone to suggest that I might not but with all of the assuming going on around here, you never know! I try my best to help them be aware of their surroundings and to pay attention to when a car is coming – sometimes I am more successful than others. Again, I’m glad there are several perfect people living among us that probably have never had such issues.

If you have a problem, why not come knock on my door? I have had one person let me know that the kids were out too late at night one night this summer. The kids weren’t in her yard or anything, they just didn’t realize how badly their noise carried down the street and haven’t been out that late in the front yard making noise since then. I find it refreshing that she actually tried resolving the issue with me as opposed to making accusations and spreading untruths via our blog….

Another thing, in my anguish upon reading the blog yesterday, I spoke with several of my friends about what had been printed publicly. Two of those friends have taught my kids in the local schools and several of them have just known my kids for all of their lives. While they all acknowledge (as do I) that they are not perfect, they are far from criminals that would do the things they are being accused of!

Seriously regretting our move into a neighborhood that passes such vast and degrading judgment without all of the facts! At least there’s all those perfect adults living around here to make it all better!

Dawn James