The lease you did

My phone was ringing, but I didn't feel like answering it, when I saw who was calling. Sheila is a busy-body neighbor, who seems to know everyone and their business, the good, the bad and the ugly. More than half of the tenants are Spanish, a few Black people and the others Caucasian. Sheila was under the impression; she was not liked by some of the Spanish community. I didn't take the time to listen to her convoluted explanation of something that had occurred years before. I simply told her, " I really would rather not get involved in other people's personal business, if you don't mind". Well, obviously she did mind, because she has not called me since. Which is fine with me, considering she probably only wanted to be friends for me to provide transportation. She offered me gas money, so it really wasn't a problem, however, I assessed her as controlling and somewhat difficult. I was just setting a boundary with her, but some people don't respect boundaries. I found out later why she was calling that particular day. I happened to be out of town and had other more important things to attend to. Apparently, a Spanish neighbor said to a white neighbor, a derogatory remark about his sister having a black boyfriend. What started as a verbal exchange, turned into a physical altercation and the police being summoned. Sheila, being white was defending the white family without really finding out all the details of the dispute. When I talked to Sheila, she defended the white teen that was involved, bringing up "Black Lives Matter". Well, of course, black lives matter, in reality ALL LIVES MATTER! Sheila thought the family should file a discrimination lawsuit against the police. She thought the police were rough with the teen and could hear him saying, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it". Well, apparently, he did it alright, whatever that was, it resulted in an assault charge, so I don't think he looked at his neighbor the wrong way. There are camera's all through the apartment complex. My son knew the mother of the teen and I had met her. I offered her a ride one day she was walking and she briefly told me she was being evicted. I gave her son a ride to court, which was out of town and her a ride to a local court. I texted her later to ask her how she made out at court and she would not answer my phone call or text. I thought that was rather rude, but she was probably upset, so I just disregarded it. Later, I found out that the apartment attorney wanted to evict her in 3 days, but the judge gave her 2 weeks. I gave her a few more rides, to work and to look for apartments. I don't know how actively she was searching, but the final day came and she had to put her stuff in storage and go to a hotel. I wasn't trying to be judgmental, but her daughter was obviously younger than the boyfriend. I didn't like how the boyfriend was ignoring her and I wondered if she was being taken advantage of. It brought back memories of my own teen years and the poor judgement and mistakes I made. One day when giving her mother a ride to work I said, "sometimes you have to be a parent and not a friend to your kids". I heard the mother verbally coddling her teenage son when I gave them a ride to court. Later, she told me she was giving him money everyday for weed. I am not against cannabis, in fact, it is legal now, but I doubt for minors. Maybe, the Spanish family saw something that the mother didn't. I know the mother also struggled with drug issues. Maybe, that's the least he could do, by making a remark to try to alter the path they were on. Was it a father trying to be a father to a single mom's kids? Knowing that God works in mysterious ways, He may be speaking through the events that took place to get the mother's attention. I was never good at discipline as a parent myself. I found out later, that this mother had her kids taken away from her before, due to her drug use. Many things in life are a lesson or a blessing. If we do the right thing it turns out to be more of a blessing in the end. Was God the Father trying to father these kids in their own father's absence? Each parent teaches different gender related lessons to their kids. It's important for teens to have both mother and father role models. It must be so confusing for teens these days with all the gender bending going on, for them to figure out what to do. Do we fault the mother, the teen, or our culture for the many difficulties our youth is faced with today? When my son's ventured into drugs, I researched the whole nature vs nurture theory. I wondered where I had gone wrong, when I raised me son's in church. I realize rebellion is human nature, and most teens experiment with drugs and alcohol at some point in their lives. Alcoholism is a genetic factor in my own family, so I attributed this to a major risk factor because it existed on both mine and their father's genetic makeup. Our culture has polarized and societal norms have gone to a level never seen before. What was considered unacceptable a few years ago, is considered normal today. We are living in uncharted waters, the moral compass has malfunctioned, at lease from my perspective. We need to be more concerned, compassionate and aware of our youth and their struggles. Our kids need positive role models and both parents are needed to raise up mature adults.

The lease that they could do, didn't turn out to be the lease that they did.