I'm taking your ball and staying home!!!

popcornjack · Post by **popcornjack** » October 20, 2008 6:25 pm

perhaps they went just a bit too far...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_ ... all_charge

Dezdmona · Post by **Dezdmona** » October 20, 2008 6:39 pm

Sounnds like Monster House...

Barefoot Gypsy · Post by **Barefoot Gypsy** » October 20, 2008 6:41 pm

I remember a hilarious SNL skit with an "ole lady always yelling off her porch at everyone in the neighborhood and everytime a ball or something came on the porch or in the yard she'd grab it and say, "okay, that's mine' and stuff like that. We had a neighbor like that at one point growing up. Hated it when we would hit a baseball into his yard. It was a very strategic manuever to get stuff back. At one point he pulled a gun on us as we went over to get a ball back.

'

just looked it up....Cheri Oteri as "Rita DelVecchio"

docandjeanie · Post by **docandjeanie** » October 20, 2008 9:24 pm

But they arrested an 89 year old woman

UAHparrothead · Post by **UAHparrothead** » October 20, 2008 9:30 pm

What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.

Post by **SMLCHNG** » October 20, 2008 9:45 pm

UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.

docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman

How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.

blackjacks wife · Post by **blackjacks wife** » October 20, 2008 10:00 pm

SMLCHNG wrote:
UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.
docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman
How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.

You've gone way too far Penny. Parents don't talk to kids anymore...

Glorfindel7 · Post by **Glorfindel7** » October 20, 2008 10:00 pm

I had a neighbor that used to do that. Some people thought she was crazy (and maybe a little bit that direction).....

Salukulady · Post by **Salukulady** » October 20, 2008 10:04 pm

blackjacks wife wrote:
SMLCHNG wrote:
UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.
docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman
How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.
You've gone way too far Penny. Parents don't talk to kids anymore...

neighbors don't talk to neighbors anymore......

Post by **SMLCHNG** » October 20, 2008 10:05 pm

blackjacks wife wrote: You've gone way too far Penny. Parents don't talk to kids anymore...

I'm sorry.. I know. What WAS I thinking??

Soraya · Post by **Soraya** » October 20, 2008 10:16 pm

SMLCHNG wrote:
UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.
docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman
How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.

The article also says that this isn't the first time she's done things like this...and in this day an age, it's often a lawsuit waiting to happen if you confrount someone about an event like this.

No matter her age, the woman was wrong to steal the kids ball and especially when the cops came continued to refuse to give it back.

Really, old age does not exempt you from the rules of society....at most, you get to bend a few when harmless or part of an overly artificial social construct...stealing isn't one of those.

Dally · Post by **Dally** » October 20, 2008 10:25 pm

Soraya wrote:
SMLCHNG wrote:
UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.
docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman
How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.
The article also says that this isn't the first time she's done things like this...and in this day an age, it's often a lawsuit waiting to happen if you confrount someone about an event like this.

No matter her age, the woman was wrong to steal the kids ball and especially when the cops came continued to refuse to give it back.

Really, old age does not exempt you from the rules of society....at most, you get to bend a few when harmless or part of an overly artificial social construct...stealing isn't one of those.

....but....having her face up to six months in jail. Is that REALLY necessary??

Post by **SMLCHNG** » October 20, 2008 10:29 pm

Soraya wrote: No matter her age, the woman was wrong to steal the kids ball and especially when the cops came continued to refuse to give it back.

Really, old age does not exempt you from the rules of society....at most, you get to bend a few when harmless or part of an overly artificial social construct...stealing isn't one of those.

How about the manners of the kids? I think those are also 'rules of society'. She didn't 'steal'. She kept what was left on her property.

Sure, kids will be kids. They seem to be 'exempt' from 'rules'.
ALL parties should just realize this whole thing is just BS, and give the ball back, and let this woman alone.

Marnin Grita Guy · Post by **Marnin Grita Guy** » October 20, 2008 11:45 pm

It was proper in the past for a community to raise a child. If your child did something wrong they would be corrected by an adult or their parents would find out about what they did. Parenting skills are totally lost at this
point because parents are trying to hard to be nice. Neglect of structure
is the result. No Respect is what they are being taught!

I would have given the football back, deflated!

Parents need to take responsibility for their kids or allow others to.

Wino you know · Post by **Wino you know** » October 20, 2008 11:48 pm

Marnin Grita Guy wrote:It was proper in the past for a community to raise a child. If your child did something wrong they would be corrected by an adult or their parents would find out about what they did. Parenting skills are totally lost at this
point because parents are trying to hard to be nice. Neglect of structure
is the result. No Respect is what they are being taught!

I would have given the football back, deflated!

Parents need to take responsibility for their kids or allow others to.

sonofabeach · Post by **sonofabeach** » October 20, 2008 11:59 pm

had it been a younger person I would say a toliet papering of her house was in order. Lord knows I did some things like that

but that a big mess for an 89 year old to clean up.
You'd think they could talk it out.
Calling the cops was as crazy as keeping the ball was imo.
God forbid a ball go into someone's yard although I could understand the lady's anger if it were damaging flowers or a vehicle, etc.

dean_siu · Post by **dean_siu** » October 21, 2008 12:03 am

If an 89 year old woman grabbed my balls and tried to run off with them, I would have her arrested too!

nutmeg · Post by **nutmeg** » October 21, 2008 6:58 am

Our neighborhood had a couple of elderly ladies who prized thier lawn/garden above all else. I swear they manicured it with tweezers.

Every child in the neighborhood knew better than to EVER step foot on their lawn. Balls did not GO into their lawn. Every parent made sure to drill their child with the instruction that Eleanor and Virginia's yard was
OFF LIMITS. ALWAYS.

Even as an adult I had a hard time walking over their lawn for any reason even though I had become friends with them.

Children can learn to respect limits.

Though I do remember one time when Virginia caught a boy shooting at birds in her yard with a B B gun. She was only 4 foot 8 or so, but she took the gun and broke it against a brick wall. I don't remember his folks calling the police for destruction of their property....

I remember Eleanor and Virginia fondly...and I feel the old lady has a right to expect the children to respect her property.

UAHparrothead · Post by **UAHparrothead** » October 21, 2008 8:26 am

SMLCHNG wrote:
UAHparrothead wrote:What a wonderful example set for those kids. Don't try to work problems out, just call the cops.
docandjeanie wrote:But they arrested an 89 year old woman
How 'bout the parents talk to the woman AND their kids TOGETHER.. and work this out.

Yeah That's what I meant

Dezdmona · Post by **Dezdmona** » October 21, 2008 9:30 am

They left their ball on her property, she had every right to pick it up. Is that theft? Not from my POV.
Should there have been some attempt to negotiate the return of the ball? Sure, but who knows how frustrated this woman may have become with kids kicking things into her yard.
I know my 80+ y/o Mom isn't capable of returning items to neighborhood kids who regularly dump balls & various items (including beer cans) in her yard. (She will, however, return things if someone comes asking...which is surprisingly rare.)

Is she obligated to return items left on her property?
I hope not...I live on a corner lot and find things on my property all the time. I have no idea where they came from, I just see them as abandoned and they usually go in the trash.
If my son knocks a ball or glider onto the neighbors property, he knows he has to go and get it immediately or consider it a donation.