A New Moment

Well, it finally happened. I finally broke down and called the cops on my neighbors.

I was actually awake and in the kitchen (putting tomorrow's oatmeal on to soak) when I heard the popping begin. Actually, at first it scared me silly. Then I realized it was just fireworks. I looked at the clock. After 1am. Hmm, I thought, that's pretty inappropriate. But I figured it wasn't THAT loud, THAT big a deal, and it would soon pass.

The next round was a little louder and a little longer. I walked outside to see if I could tell where it was coming from. Behind me and 1 or 2 houses over. Hmm.... My hand drifted to my pocket, checking to see if I had my phone. And then the screaming bottle rockets started. Then the bursts blossoming about 40 feet over the trees. Pretty, but scary. By now, 1:20.

At this point, I actually didn't hesitate. In fact, I felt more than a little "under fire." I dialed 911. The operator connected me to the police. I was half apologetic ("Sorry to bother you with this, but it seems a little inappropriate, especially at this hour"), but the officer said "I hear it in the background. Hang on, I'm putting you on a recorded line. This is happening in a BACKYARD?!!!! We'll send someone right over."

Now, I'm sure that if it came down to vindication, the recording would have served. But I noticed an odd interior shift that can only be chalked up to my credibility being on the line. You see, I had been rooting for the fireworks to stop, so I would be justified in not calling. Now, suddenly, I was rooting for them to keep going until the cops arrived. I can't quite be sure, but I think they did. At a certain point, I was still hearing firecrackers and I thought the lights were not so much the lights of fireworks, but more the flashing lights atop a police cruiser. They reflected oddly against the smoke that had filled the neighborhood.

Either way, all is quiet now. I just feel a little twinge of tattler's guilt. And of course I'm haunted by the idea that if I were a better neighbor, I would have talked to them directly rather than calling the cops. But I'm not sure that people shooting off that many fireworks at that hour deserve that kind of respect.

I suspect this won't be the last time I call the cops on my neighbors.