Are You Zhazha?

Call me a narc. Call me a do-gooder. Call me justified. I’ll call myself a pissed off neighbor who is tired of people not respecting other people’s property.

While our next door neighbors are on vacation, we’ve been getting their mail for them.  Friday night, I went out to get it  but I saw two people sitting on the storm drain next to their house.  I just thought it was two of our neighbors talking so I didn’t head for the mailbox.  Instead, I got our garbage cans and brought them around the side of the house.  As I was walking back inside, I noticed they were leaving so I waited for them to walk off and then went for the mail.  I thought it was weird that the two girls cut through our yards, so I let Joey out so he could bark at them. I didn’t think too much of it all until I opened our neighbor’s empty mailbox.

First thought – Andrew must have gotten it already.  No.  I would have known that.

Second thought – They didn’t get any mail.  No.  They always have a ton of mail.

Third thought – What is that paper blowing around on the grass?  Oh, and that ripped up envelope?  CRAP!  I think that’s their mail!

I looked around for more mail and my eyes caught a bunch of white paper stuffed in the storm drain.  I grabbed a piece that’s not too far in and see it is indeed their mail.

I freak out, worried that they stole something with our neighbor’s financial information on it.  I run inside to get Andrew and then run back outside to see if I see the girls anywhere.  Sure enough, I see them down the street behind our house and what do you know – I see them open up another mailbox and look inside!  I yell at them like some tough girl, “I see what you’re doing!  I found the mail!  PUNKS!  I’m calling the police!”  To all of that they reply, “Ma’am?”  I run back inside and cross paths with Andrew who’s armed with a stick of some sort (at that time he did not know they were girls!).  While he took off to chase them, I called the cops.

Andrew didn’t catch up with the girls but the officer did!  The only bad thing about it all – he drove them back to our house so we could identify them!  I say yes, it’s them but I don’t want to press charges, just give back the mail.  “Ma’am, we didn’t take no mail ma’am.”  I say, “Well then, could you give us the mail you found blowing in the wind while you were walking?”  “We don’t have no mail ma’am.”

Turns out they live either in our neighborhood or close to us and they are 23 and 20 years old!  (Here I thought they were just kids being kids.)  The 23 year old actually even had a warrant out for her arrest!  (Not sure for what.) Based off what we saw and another neighbor who saw them throw down two pieces of mail (another neighbor’s catalog credit card statement and our neighbor’s entire phone bill), they handcuffed the girls and took them away.

I’m just so freakin’ paranoid right now. They know where we live.  They know we’re the ones who reported them.  What if they retaliate? Nia and Nate’s rooms are in the front of the house.  I’m so scared they, or someone they know, will do something that could hurt our sweeties as they sleep all tucked in nice and cozy.  I want to move!  I can totally see why people don’t report crime.  The cop even asked if we owned a gun and told us to get one!  That’s comforting!

This sucks!  All we can do is move Nia’s bed away from the outside wall and pray the criminals aren’t crazy enough to want to hurt someone.

Did we do the right thing?  What about the smart thing?  What would you have done?  Am I overreacting yet again?  (Please don’t answer unless you’re going to help make me feel better!  HA!)