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After a rather long, though productive, day at work, I headed home - my mind ablaze with all the things I had to do when I got there. Not the least of which was beating Eagle_Kiwi at a game or two of canasta. (I've been on something of a miserable, horrible, downward spiraling, confidence shattering, demoralizing - well not that bad - losing streak lately.) I completely forgot to stop at the store and get milk. And by the time I finally walked through the front door I was forced to apologize to my 13-year old male offspring - but Nooooo, not for forgetting the milk...

Follow up:

Imagine yourself driving down the road. You’re within two right turns of your driveway. As you approach your quiet little street, you notice a police car coming the other way. So you say to yourself, "Self - that's interesting. Wonder what he was doing there?" You slow to the proper speed, apply right turn signal, and turn onto your street, curious to no end as to the reason said officer had been there. As you approach your house you see a police car. Yes – lights flashing – near your house. No...WAIT! It’s in front of your house. Um...even worse...it's blocking your driveway!

A quick assessment follows. Door to house is shut. No paramedics are present. No signs of smoke or fire. No yellow police tape cordoning off the area. 13-year old male offspring is not sitting handcuffed in the back of police car. OK then. What has he done? Why is there an officer blocking the way into my home? I pull around the court and park my Kia Sportage (that wants to be an SUV when it grows up) in front of the neighbor's house. There wasn't quite enough space to park and not block his driveway but I was parking there (for the moment anyway).

I mean really, it's quite obvious isn't it? I needed to be close enough to jump back in my vehicle and flee if the officer is after me. (That was a joke....) With trepidation (and a rather large knot in my stomach, but almost fully prepared for whatever 13-year old male offspring has managed to do) I emerge from the vehicle. Notably, my somewhat vicious sounding dog is not barking loudly and clawing the front window at Officer Name-Unknown-But-Blocking-My-Driveway in an effort to scare him away. Hmmmm - not a good sign. I approach Officer Wow-He's-Kinda-Cute's car. He rolls down the window.

"Do you live on this street?"

".....Yes....."

"Which house?"

Silently, I point to the house, the driveway to which he is completely blocking.

"There's nothing wrong at your house." (I think to myself...thanks for clearing that up. Now why the heck are you blocking my driveway?) "How do you spell the name of this street?"

I contemplated telling him T-H-I-S S-T-R-E-E-T but decide better of it. (Nah - I didn't really - but it would have been awfully funny...) I tell him, but wonder why the happy GPS laptop thingy sitting next to him has not already done so. Or does he just not trust computers and wants a human verification?

"This car...", he gestures to an unfamiliar red vehicle parked at my curb, "...will be here for a couple of days. We have to give him time to come get it. It's parked legally so it should be no problem correct?"

I stare at him in astonishment. For this he blocks my driveway and nearly gives me heart failure?? For a car parked in front of my house?

"I have one car and a two car driveway, I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem. But you nearly gave me a heart attack as I've a teenage son home alone at the moment."

Officer I-Didn't-Bother-To-Look-At-the-Name-On-His-Badge chuckles, and moves his vehicle - lights still blazing. I then proceed to move my car into my newly unblocked driveway, grab the mail from the post box, and contemplate why the red vehicle had ended up in front of my house. Stolen? Abandoned? Just discovered? And I'm hoping the neighbor's aren't all watching thinking it's something male offspring or I have done that has brought the long arm of the law to our quiet little cul-de-sac. Appearances are everything you know.

I unlock the door and announce to male offspring - "My apologies - I saw the cops and wondered what you'd done."

Male offspring laughs, "At first when I saw them I thought maybe they were coming for me!" (Uhhh....wonder what he's done that would make him think that? Probably better I don't ask. I don't think I wanna know....)

Male offspring, while playing on the internet (I wonder where he gets that from?) watched the scene unfold. It goes something like this. Dog barks like crazy and claws at window. Male offspring sees cops outside and forcibly relocates dog to bedroom and shuts door. (Good thinking! If it's quiet they might not know you're in there and maybe they'll go away!) Then he pulls back the edge of the curtain and peeps outside. (Duh! #1 - Like they can't see you through the sheer curtains and #2 - Do you think they don't know you're watching? The neighbors always watch! Don't act suspicious, just open the curtains and be bold!)

Apparently the boyfriend of the teenage girl across the street was removed from his vehicle (whilst sitting in front of my house), searched, cuffed, arrested, read his Miranda rights, had his car searched and was hauled off in first police car that was leaving as I pulled in. From what male offspring observed, I would surmise he's facing charges not only for possession of an illegal substance and drug paraphernalia, but an array of additional charges likely to include distribution and/or intent to distribute (based on the number of pretty little vials retrieved from his pockets and car). I guess Officer Who-Nearly-Gave-Me-Heart-Failure decided on lots of charges because a big shiny black roll-back tow truck appeared about ten minutes after I got home and the red car is now gone. Probably means the guy isn't going to be able to be back to get it in a few days....

And so ends the excitement of life on our sleepy, quite little court today. Oh yes! I nearly forgot to mention...even after all that hoo-ha, I managed to beat Eagle_Kiwi at a game or two of canasta! Now - back to my losing streak....