The S.W.A.T. Team
Camped In My Neighborhood Last Night

Last night, starting around midnight, my dogs started going nuts pulling me out of a very deep sleep. Exhausted, I got up and tried to get the bigger one inside the house and she was having none of it. I could hear dogs barking like crazy all over the block as well.

Oftentimes, when the dogs sound the alarm, my neighbors and I will go outside to see what's going on and usually we're armed. It's a good thing we didn't head outside that way last night. The SWAT Team probably would have shot us.

During my disturbed and broken sleep, I became vaguely aware of a man's voice sounding out into the night. About 5:00 a.m., fed up and exhausted, I walked out my front door and peered down the block to my left. Bright lights were coming from both directions and I could clearly hear the police officer's voice now coming from his police cruiser. "XXXX, come out of the house. We know you don't want to hurt your children. Pick up the phone and talk to us."

I then called 9-1-1 and they confirmed we had a "tactical" operation going on down on my street. The dispatcher told me to go back inside and stay put. I went into my kitchen, opened the window and continued to listen to the chatter. At about 5:45, I noticed that the distorted speaker was no longer crackling. At this point, I tried to go back to sleep and did for awhile. I figured the crisis had passed.

By the time I left the house for work at 7:00 a.m., only one police car was parked outside and it appeared everyone, including the homeowners, were gone. It dawned on me then whose house it was.

The young teenager who lives there has had it very rough his whole life, I believe. Since he was 9 or so, I've seen him out and about on the block even at 10:00 at night. Many times over the years, he would come ring my bell just looking for a little attention, conversation and a chance to run on my treadmill and play. The last time I saw him, at the convenience store, he was high as a kite and I let him know I knew with a gesture I made. He looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said, "What?"

"Boy, don't try to put one over on me cuz I've BEEN THERE", I delivered.

I've thought a lot about him since that evening and the path he's now traveling. I have only been able to spot the neglect in his family so the SWAT Team hauling his father off last night was probably the culmination of something I cannot even fathom. And yes, I did hear a very LOUD boom which made me wonder if his father had blown his own head off. I was told later, it was the tear gas blast going through the window. I cried a lot for this boy today. I cried because as a young boy, you could see the sweet nature of his soul, the innocence in his eyes and the person he could and should become. I loved him then and I love him now. I feel guilty that there was nothing more that I could do for him other than let him hang out every now and then...to let him know in some small way that someone actually did care about him.

Just three houses down and across the street, I watched the lives of four people crumble in the early morning hours of this day. I am glad our SWAT Team practiced restraint and that this bruised and battered family all still live on. I really hope they will all, somehow, be okay.

Signing Off,

The Very Sad Angry Lesbian
05/26/06