Kids next door 'made' me

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I live in a neighborhood that has a core group of 'hood rats' that hang out, shoot hoops and generally walk around with nothing else better to do.

The other day I was washing the cars on a balmy afternoon. I was (semi) CC my j-frame but the shirt kept pulling up. One of the teens yelled over, "Hey man, what do you do for a living?" :?

I said something to the effect that I'm self employed. He said "Is that a gun? What is it a Glock 40?" I laughed and said nah, those things are too bulky, just a revolver. He said "wow, what do you need a gun for?"

As I'm usually slow on the draw with social situations, I didn't think to respond with the standard 'too heavy to carry an LEO' comment, but said "because I can". One of the younger kids interceeded for me saying, "yeah that's cool, for protection and all".

Yup.

However, I now hear comments from the 'pack' as they walk down the sidewalk like, "hey that's the guy with a gun" or "Glock foTAY" etc etc. And these are white kids.

Mom/Dad don't seem to be very present in their lives. Many of them smoke, some look to be about 11 or 12. Should I be concerned about OC or just let them comment all they want?

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Always be concerned....even low key. Let 'em talk and maybe you'll be a legend to them some day.

If they want to discuss it....go ahead, but remember, their parents may be sheeple.:dude:

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With the average 11-12 year old having the attention span of a ferret on a double espresso, they should forget about it altogether shortly.

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Might be a good opportunity to teach them a little about what it means to be an American, our youth are the future leaders of this land, if you spend 20 minutes with them one day, teach them right and always give positive advice, the good ones will hang around and see you as someone to respect and listen to later on in life perhaps. One caring adult can really make a world of difference to these aimless youth. Just a thought.

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I think you're right. One of the next door kids (14) comes over to say 'hi' quite a bit. Today he brought over a couple more to get a feel for what the 'new guy' on the block is like. He's always hanging around when I'm working on the car or bike.

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Yeah just remember what it was like at that age, trying to act older,be older do stuff that only grown ups can do and all of that, if WE are the examples for these young adults, the next generation might not be so f*cked up as the last couple have been, myself included. Man, just a little positive and patriotic influence could have saved me ALOT of trouble and having to learn things the hard way.

Lead by example and all that, ya know? Now that i have 3 kids, and I homeschool them, I find that I must REALLY set the right example for them, and it seems to be working:celebrate

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An update, I seem to be quite the popular person around the neighborhood! At one point saturday I was sitting in my driveway with 4 other kids in lawn chairs shooting the breeze about 'man stuff'...job prospects, school, cars, WWII, riding bikes etc etc. No further comment about my "Glock 40" as that one kid incorrectly called my j-frame.

Thing is, I can't come home without a clot of kids hovering around me. A couple are respectful and decent, others...blatantly without any understanding of tact or social graces.:?

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Just remember, sometimes rude behavior is due to feeling intimindated, like they are not the coolest guys around anymore, just becareful about letting any of them into your home they maysee you asan easy mark for a firearm theft. Kids are kids after all. Maintain a level of privacy that demands respect, kinda like keeping students out of the "teachers lounge". Trust and friendship must be earned. Never given.

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Yeah, they've already been quite interested in coming inside to my "nice home" and "hanging out because we're bored".

Not gonna happen. The garage is far as they get.

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chris in va wrote:

Yeah, they've already been quite interested in coming inside to my "nice home" and "hanging out because we're bored".

Not gonna happen. The garage is far as they get.

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So, many of them are up to no good, right? Why even let them on your property?

In any event, I wouldn't want to deal with the liability of having some neighborhood kids around my place.