dead end drama.

I live on a dead end. There are many perks to this ... namely, no through traffic. The majority of the people living on my street are middle- to old-aged people who have lived here since their houses were built some 40 years ago. They look out for each other. My neighbor to the north mows my yard and my neighbor across the street brings me flowers and watches my house for any suspicious activity. So you can imagine I was a bit surprised to wake up at 2 a.m. last night to a loud disturbance right outside.

First, I woke up to dogs barking. It sounded like lots of dogs. Lots of dogs in pain or seriously scared. Loud dogs which reminded me of the coyotes that used to run through our backyard in Kansas. The sound is just horrible. My first thought was, Oh my goodness, I hope there's not someone out there trying to break into a house. Then came the yelling.

I was a little relieved at the yelling because I imagine someone trying to break into a house would not be yelling and drawing attention to himself. More yelling, and I started to get scared and wondered if someone was about to get shot, or if a break-in was botched and someone was hurt and the bad guys were panicking. Pretty scary, so I start praying. I mean, it's pretty stinkin' relieving when you know the God of the universe is looking out for you. And I don't feel so scared anymore, and I hear a car go screeching off down the street, so it's still odd. Then within 10 minutes, two cop cars show up and the police are out there talking to some people who live in the rental duplex to the south of me.

I'm kind of disappointed that these renters are kind of ruining the rep. of our little street with whatever drama they have going on at 2 a.m. But the police finish talking to people and I assume it was a domestic dispute because nothing seems to be happening but the police continue to sit there at the end of the street for nearly an hour, which makes me feel safe enough to go back to sleep.

This morning Jennifer said she didn't even hear it; I think it might be a homeowner's thing. I sleep so lightly now and I wake up at the slightest noise. I guess it's this new instinct to protect my dwelling, though I wouldn't risk my life for it. And seriously, I'm 22 and have nothing of great material value, so if you're considering burglarizing my house, don't waste your time.