No one ever wants to get the cell phone call “The cops are at your house and want to talk to you.”  But I did.

Jake was babysitting while Jim, Jimmy and I were working last night.  I received that call from my neighbor at 10:15.

Talk about a heart-pounding moment.

Did someone break in?

Is the house on fire?

Were they out vandalizing the neighborhood?

Are they out on the lawn beating the tar out of each other?

No.  They left the dog out in the back yard.  Our separation anxiety dog Brownie that freaks out when we aren’t in sight (except, for some reason, when she’s gallivanting through the neighborhood with Cookie).  And she heard there was rain in the forecast.  She is the only lab in the world that hates water.  And it was dark.  And Cookie was INSIDE (still not sure WHY one dog was brought inside and not the other….).

So she was REALLY freaked out.

She had been barking non-stop and finally someone had had enough and called the police.  While I am deeply sorry for keeping my neighbors awake, I must admit I was relieved THAT was the reason the police were there and not my initial thoughts.

Jake had put Eric and Greg to bed, turned his video game on, and was so oblivious to the world that he didn’t hear a dog that was  barking loudly enough to wake the entire neighborhood.  Or the pounding on the front door.  Or see the flashing blue lights in front of our house.  Or the flashlight shining in the windows.

Well, he DID hear the pounding.

“I heard someone knocking on the door but I’m not supposed to answer the door when you aren’t home.  So I didn’t.”

You got me there Jake.

Oi vey.

Time to cut the sleeves off of Jim’s t-shirts.

_____

This morning one of my funny blogger friends wrote about differences between herself and Mr. Rogers.  I can tell you one difference for me.  The answer to “Won’t you be my neighbor?” A resounding NO.