This Is Some Bull!

At around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, while Mom and I were sitting in the living room watching the second of back-to-back episodes of Bernie Mac, We heard a very loud crash. Dad was at his class, so it couldn't have been him. I turned on the big lights outside and the light downstairs while we tried to figure out what happened. I walked into my room looking for my shoes when I realized that someone had thrown a rock through my window. Not only that, but it was the double pane window, the one that I open. I called the police and an officer came to document the incident. Mom and I cleaned up the glass and proceeded to cover the holes in the window with a combination of clear Contact paper and plexiglass.

Now, frequent reader(s) may recall that this isn't the first time we've been vandalized. We've gotten our car window broken twice (the same one). There have been other instances over time as well. Years ago, someone tried to break into our house through the bathroom window (which is why it doesn't work right anymore). Also, we had gang stuff painted on our house once. Each incident was isolated and obviously the product of some bored teen (except the attempted break-in, probably).

This incident makes me think of a little story that I have rarely (if ever) told anyone. Every year, my uncle Angelo (Dad's brother) has a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. Most years, either my dad went by himself or not at all because...well, it's my birthday. One year, he and I actually went to the party. I got the chance to see my uncle Angelo and my cousin Angelo Jr. (or Little Angelo, as he was known back then). A lot of his friends came to the party to hang out. He and some of his friends decided that they were going to go break some windows. I decided to come along. At some point, I chickened out and decided to go back. I walked back and ended up getting lost. I walked too far in one direction and didn't recognize anything. I was scared to death. It was dark and I was in an unfamiliar neighborhood (it was Evanston). Not only that, but Dad had no clue that I wasn't in the house. Fortunately, I encountered a white man walking his dog and I asked for help. He walked with me back until I eventually recognized the block that my uncle Angelo's house was on. I thanked him and went back. Of course, Little Angelo and his friends were already back. I heard one of them remark, "He just got back." I didn't tell Dad about it when we ended up leaving and I didn't tell Mom about it when I returned home. In fact, I only told Mom about it just Wednesday night as we waited outside for Dad to put the car in the garage so we could show him the window from the outside.

I wonder if the person who decided to randomly throw that rock through my window was in a similar situation as Angelo and his friends...bored and looking for something exciting to do. I mean, they decided to do this at 8:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. The only place to do anything within walking distance is the Roller Rink. And that second Bernie Mac was a repeat. However, don't think that I'm covering for that little bastard (or those little bastards). This little incident will now have our family spending more money that we don't really have. It's not like it's summer and we have time to gather up money because the window would've been open anyway. It's already starting to get colder and my room will seriously be cold if it's not fixed by the time of the first freeze. This person (or persons) also would pick the more expensive to replace window. I may need a whole new window (as opposed to just a new pane).

Like Bernie Mac always says on his show: "That's some bull!!"