Grandma Amy warned me

So, the phone rings and it's a woman. Alessandra had answered the phone a few minutes earlier and had said that " it was some woman that wanted you...but she wasn't selling anything". By the time that i'd gotten downstairs (i'd been in the shower), the line was dead.
When the phone rang again, i figured that it might be the same person. I thought that it was one of the nurses at work, wanting me to work later that day or even pick up a day during the coming week. Was i ever wrong.

Is this Lisa or Joe? This is Officer Kelley with the Albuquerque Police Department.
I was all ready to say "we already have our charities for this year and will keep you in mind for next year", the standard response to the frequent solicitations for the police department, the animal shelter, injured veterans and the many others that call.
The caller then continued with "We're at the High Desert Park. We have your son Christian and want you to come here. We'll be waiting for you."
Yikes!

Joe and i rushed to the High Desert Park, thinking that perhaps there would be one of the local yokels, the neighborhood security guards. Oh no.

"Real" cops.
With real guns.
Real cop cars.
FOUR real cop cars.
All surrounding our son, sitting on a bench by the semi-circular entrance to the otherwise deserted park.

It seems that Christian was all dressed to go play in the park. A neighbor saw him and called 911. Hence the big turn out of APD.

Christian was dressed head to toe in camouflage. With a burlap sac that he laid under at the park with only his head sticking out. And carrying a "rifle" that he'd made with duct tape and plumbing tubing.

So, a neighbor saw our strapping teenage son, camouflaged head to toe, apparently carrying a rifle, heading to the park and called 911.

The officers that arrived explained to us that if Chrisitian had pointed his fake rifle at them upon their arrival (even accidentally during his imaginary game that he was playing with the imaginary enemy), they would have shot him. "Shoot first, ask later"
being the rule when drawn upon.

Yikes.

It's not like i haven't said over and over and over to Christian that if he dresses all in camo, someone is going to think that he's a terrorist. Does he listen to me? Does anyone listen to me? No.

So, we were called to the park to be told that our son is scaring the neighbors and narrowly missed being shot by the police.

He's thirteen.

What fun awaits us in the coming years?

As Tim Voss used to say, "it's never boring"!