My buddy and I stood waiting at the bottom of the
stoop. Sooner or later, we knew the door
would open and it would be showtime.
When it did, I was hit for a moment; the visage of the woman
standing behind the protection of her screen door wasn’t entirely unlike the
one Owen was trying to get Larry to throw from the train. But, it was time to be a man, so I launched
in . . .
The reason we were there was our possession of credible evidence that her son had stolen my baseball glove. Gilbert was there to back me up; although once I got going it wasn’t necessary for him to say anything. I presented my case, and waited for the lady to react the way my Mom would have had it been some other kid standing at our door. What I got next remains one of most unexpected and disturbing encounters I’ve ever had. To my shock and complete bewilderment, she expressed absolutely no interest in determining the truth of my claim, but instead justified her son’s actions had he actually done the deed, saying there was nothing wrong with it because . . .
The reason we were there was our possession of credible evidence that her son had stolen my baseball glove. Gilbert was there to back me up; although once I got going it wasn’t necessary for him to say anything. I presented my case, and waited for the lady to react the way my Mom would have had it been some other kid standing at our door. What I got next remains one of most unexpected and disturbing encounters I’ve ever had. To my shock and complete bewilderment, she expressed absolutely no interest in determining the truth of my claim, but instead justified her son’s actions had he actually done the deed, saying there was nothing wrong with it because . . .
. . . someone had stolen his baseball glove.
