Night Ops
On Saturday night, Dad, Kendall, and I went into the van and sat. And sat. Talon was sleeping in her crib. Taylor napped on the couch. And Ty and Kyle were patrolling. Yes, patrolling. They put their boots on their feet. They hopped on their bikes. They turned on their flashlights (because the sun had set an hour before). They set their radios (walkie-talkies) to the right frequency. They patrolled.
First, I have to explain “patrolling.” It’s usually something that we do in the daytime. The boys get on their bikes, and Taylor walks alongside my pushing the stroller and carrying a baby in the sling. We take a walk around the neighborhood, paying attention to the cars going by, the cars parked in people’s lawns, the dogs that bark too much, and everything that’s in out immediate environment. The boys have their radios so we can communicate how far they can go. I don’t like not being able to see them when they go around corners. Or sometimes they go too far if there isn’t a corner. If they are too far, I cannot save them from attacking dogs (which I’ve done before… well, the dogs weren’t “attacking” but they were barking and running, and that’s enough!)
During our Night Operation, Dad and I sat in the van that faced the sidewalk, listening to “A Prairie Home Companion.” We maintained a line of sight on the boys and turned on the high beams when we saw other cars going up or down the street. Perhaps it startled the drivers, but it also assured them that the children on their bikes were being supervised. The boys rode to the fire hydrant, which is a little over a hundred yards away. Over the radios, we heard another party’s communication on the same frequency. It sounded like they were getting pizza… and something about a lady named Amy. Must have been code for something.
We would have taken pictures of the boys, but it was too dark. Only two specks of light would have been caught by the camera. They did go by houses that had their front porch lights on, so we could see them. And the air was so clear and still that we heard their squeaky wheels and high-pitched laughter from afar.
We were out there for half an hour. The last ten minutes, the boys dismounted their vehicles and went foot patrolling. I don’t remember if Kyle took off his (Dad’s, actually) hockey helmet for that (some would argue that it’s his security blanket). They both were so cute and tough-looking, wearing their weatherproof boots that they got for Christmas. Kyle wore a pair of my striped socks up to the top of his knees (those socks reach the top of my calves). They maintained communication of their radios. Ty told us that they had “reached the part of the sidewalk that makes the bikes go ‘tuh tuh tuh tuh tuh,’” which means that they were in front of the house that has a crazy paved driveway – like cobblestone or sampietrini but not as ordered.
At eight o’clock, we went inside and watched the car race.
