In hindsight, I should have known. The signs were there--I just ignored them. The days are longer, the temperatures are rising, and the pollen is again trying to kill me. It wasn't until I drove to the local gas station/fast food place at noon to pick up jalapeño corn dogs/egg rolls for lunch that I realized the danger I was in.
School's out.
Which means...
Teenagers are ON THE LOOSE!
The gather in packs, gangs of youth fueled on newly-acquired freedom and unspent lunch money. Their eyes are hazy, as if they can't believe they've survived another school year.
Beware these gangs, people! They cross the street slowly. They laugh at things that are marginally funny at best. And the worst part, they fail to realize that in three short months, they will be herded--yes, literally herded--back to the school from which they so recently escaped, breathing in the same incarcerated air, sitting in the same lumbar-lacking chairs.
Mostly, I keep my distance--no sense angering the pack. To quote Old Man Potter, "Mobs can get pretty ugly, you know?" There's something about that first day out that these groups of youth wonder about, as if seeing the world for the first time. They walk down streets they usually ignore. They chat/text simultaneously. It's how they communicate with other gangs of marauding teenagers in different sectors...ah, I mean, parts of town. They're into technology, these kids.
I'm not telling you to remain in your homes behind locked doors for the next three months, but I'm not not saying it, either. If you need to go out, be careful. Remember, if we work together, we can get through this. Be brave, my friends! Be brave.
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