PORCH PONDERINGS

Strange Night

Tonight as I sat on my porch, I heard a strange noise. It came from the direction of the old school playground down the street. So I walked out to the sidewalk and stood, arms crossed over my chest.

Seems there was a group of teens over in the playground, fooling around. So i thought I'd just watch to make sure they didn't get too crazy. Because if they got too out of control, I'd call the police.

Well, I stood still for at least 10 minutes. The teens then saw me, started yelling at me, started waving to me. I didn't answer, just stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed. They continued to yell at me, continued to wave. Then suddenly they all stopped and walked up the street a bit, then gathered in a group and headed back in my direction.

I have to tell you, it was just a little scary. A group of unknowns coming at you, about six teens. But once they got to me, one girl said, "Why were you standing there watching us? You freaked us out."

Thinking fast, because I really meant them no harm. "I just wanted to be sure no one got hurt. Because if you got hurt, I would call for help. That playground isn't safe anymore. All the equipment needs replaced." True story. It's an old school, soon to be refurbished, but the playground needs repair.

I knew some of the teens since I work sometimes in the school cafeteria, and some of them I recognized from subbing on a bus route some years ago. Perhaps some of them recognized me as well, I don't know.

So I reassured them that I meant them no harm, just wanted them to be safe. Besides, it was getting dark.

A very weird situation that could have been even more strange if I had overreacted and yelled at them.

You never know when you will be in a strange event. And you never know what effect you may have on other people. I pray it was a positive one, even though they thought at first I was freaky.

Possibly someday I can use this for a story. Of course, it would have to be written to be far more scary, write it from the teens' POV. Now that would be fun.