Story of Unlawful Entry

This story is one of adventure, from a child’s point of view, but one that should keep parents aware of what their small children are capable of doing. The time is set before housing developments and people didn’t have fears like they do now. Houses were never locked and children were safe to play and use their imaginations.

As I have mentioned before, my family and I lived in a valley. No matter which way you went, there was a high hill. There was a field in front of the house and across the road, but that way was ignored. The house, on the hill to the right of our home lived a family who kept cows and farmed. Every once in a while the cows came into our lawn and we would spend the afternoon chasing the cows out of the corn. Great fun but the cows were bigger than we were and to us they might as well been monsters. The house on the hill to the left of our home lived a family with 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. The girl was a year older than me, but when you are lacking playmates, you have to make due. The hill behind the house was the best. On top of the hill were the rail road tracks, but beyond were a farmer’s fields. The hill was full of trees, sweet grass, small streams and poison sumac. It was a place where imaginations could run wild. At times the trees would become the walls of a castle, the stream became a raging river, and the sweet grass becomes an oasis in the dessert. In those days, there were no computer games and movies on DVD, there was only your imagination and you could go anywhere at any time. The hills and fields were our canvas and our imaginations were the paints.

Like most children, I was no different. Sometimes when I wanted something, I wanted it NOW! One early morning I woke up and desperately needed to talk with my girlfriend on the hill. I just couldn’t wait; I had to see her now. I woke my sister and talked her into going to the friend’s house. I was still dark and my sister wanted to go back to sleep, but somehow I talked her into it. We got dressed and down the stairs we went, being careful not to walk on the creaky spots on the stairs or the floor. We took the back way up the hill to her house.

Coming up to the back of her house gave us more cover than walking up the road. Remember we were on a mission and could not be seen. I tried to wake my girlfriend, by throwing small pebbles at her window, but no matter how hard I threw, I couldn’t reach your window glass. I had to find another answer. Everyone considered it inconceivable to enter someone else’s house without an invitation but the house was not locked. We crept up to the back door, opened the door and entered the kitchen. The house sure looked strange in the dark. We exited the kitchen and headed for the stairs.

As my sister and I started up the stairs, but the stairs did creak. These were not our stairs and we didn’t know the location of the creaky boards. We tried as hard as we could to be quiet, but before we were half way up the stairs, my girlfriend’s father yelled “Who’s there!” Boy was we in trouble. We could go to jail. RUN!!!

Out the front door we ran. It was the closest door. We were kids. If we were smart, we would have left the way we came in, but we didn’t. The front door led to the front yard which was the size of a football field and there were very little trees planted in the yard. We ran fast, but no so fast that the father could not identify us. If we had gone out by the back door, we would have been safe, but kids don’t always think right when they are scared, and we were scared. Not only did Mr. N see you, but he got dressed and jumped into his car. By this time, my sister and I had reached the road. This country road had bushes and wild berries growing along side it, so there would be good cover since we did not want to be seen. The cover was not as good as we thought.

When the car started down the road, we hid behind the small bushes, but the car stopped right in front of us. Mr. N opened the car door and told us to get in. I don’t remember any conversation, but I was scared. He dropped us off at our house and told us to get back to bed, and we did. When we woke up the second time, we were still scared and were very quiet all day. We were waiting for Mom’s or Dad’s punishment, but it never came.

About 3 days later, Dad called me into the living room for a small talk. I was excited, because I would have Dad’s attention all to myself and I wouldn’t have to share it. He informed me that he had just finished talking with Mr. N. My dad was asked what kind of punishment he gave to my sister and me. My Dad was confused and said he didn’t know what he was talking about. Mr. N informed Dad of the events of that other morning. Dad had remembered a car pulling in the driveway but he thought it was the school bus picking us up for school. He hadn’t realized that it was a Saturday.

The lesson is this. Never underestimate a child’s determination. Imagination can be a great asset but it can also lead to trouble. But the greatest lesson is: if you do something wrong and you got away without punishment – you are just plain lucky. Your punishment will come when you least expect it.