All of the "bad" teenagers in the neighborhood hang out at the house next to mine. They rode their bikes/boards in the middle of the road. They tossed empty beer cans, cigarette butts and other assorted nastiness into our yard. They played their music too loud too late and woke up my kids.
Notice my use of the past tense? No, they didn't move and sadly, the kid next door has not gotten more selective about his friends. What changed? They found out that we like Iron Maiden. Todd came home one night and he was blaring Maiden on the SUV's sound system. The "kids" next door were amazed the we old farts had ever heard of them (I wonder if they realize that the band is in their 50's?). Well, once they found out that Todd and I were going to see them... we became the "cool" neighbors.
No more crap in our yard. No more loud music at night. They even look out for my kids and will not let ANYONE pick on them. They are even showing Andy & Ryan how to skateboard (I was not thrilled about this at first, but then Todd brought his board home from his parents... now THAT scared me!). They are nice to us, considerate of our kids and even help us out if/when they can. It is amazing what you can do when you find a little common ground.
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