Elderly Woman Charged After Taking Boy’s Ball (Video)

I thought it was interesting that she said, “I’m not guilty of anything”, which may be true regarding city statutes, but she sure is guilty of not being nice, not being kind, not being a decent neighbor. We should all strive for that.

This sound to me like a passive-aggressive way to get one’s point across. Probably she is tired of the noise and intrusion into her personal space but doesn’t feel safe or strong enough to say so to her neighbors, so she grasps at this little bit of ‘power’ over them. They in turn don’t communicate to her their true feelings and call the police to try to shift the balance of power. It’s sad and I agree, they could all do with a little more kindness and good-neighborliness. I wonder if they ever speak to one other except to complain or coerce?

Geri I trust your intentions completely, but this does not feel like a good news story and it’s not the kind of story that I personally want to read on the site.

Thanks for asking for feedback!

Well, it is a good way to get clear with ourselves how we would deal with a situation like this, and so it is “good news” in that it can be a teaching moment. (Also I warned in the upper text that I didn’t post this to be good news, as a warning for those to turn away who’re not interested in some discussion…)

Susannaluck: We don’t really know by the video if the parents or kids ever tried to talk to her. Perhaps they started off by assuming she was a normally nice woman…. and asked for the ball back a few times only to be shockingly told they weren’t going to get it (?).

If the parents were super aware with intentions of a highly enlightened person — as you seem to me 🙂 — they should have tried in every way possible to strike a note of compassion and understanding for her feelings (whatever they are).
But I do agree that communication would have made

Sounds like a little fly needs a drink of our water here at good news network!! If anyone lives near this woman, go give her a hug and tell her it’s totally okay to be nice to children. Thanks for sharing, let’s soak this in good feelings so it returns as something miraculous, like 89 year-old woman joins in game of catch with neighbor kids.

🙂

Sounds like the woman, the mother and the police overreacted. It’s too bad that no one can behave like adults any more. Moreover, I’m sure we got the media’s sensationalist, ratings driven version of the story and we probably don’t know all the facts.

(sigh)

I agree with Natalie – this is the kind of thing that depresses me about the world. I really would prefer not to hear about it.

The real culprit here is EGO! Think about it. They apparently live next door and for how many years? The mother clearly said that this is like the 6th ball that has ended up in this womans yard. Does anyone see the pattern here?

What has just been witnessed are people unconscious of the moment and not in their right minds. But I’ve just spent energy and time on something that cannot possibly energize me or anyone else in any way. That’s why I joined this site…to get energized and not the contrary.

Geri, I’m not sure anyone reading this could answer the question as to how they would handle the situation since there are too many details missing. And I’m going to go out on a limb and say that people comming to this site are of a different mindset to begin with. When we look for joy, happiness and peace we attract it! So here is my higher energy to subdue the lower energy of this situration.

Great points Alan.

I wonder if your neighbors are somewhat like our mates… attracted for the purpose of making us more aware. Meaning, usually, that they will push your buttons to make you more reflective of where it is you can grow as a loving human.

So, then, we always attract what we need to evolve in a positive way? — Even if it means having to say NO to the person and explaining that we need to live our truth and not get dragged thru the pain…

I still think this is a very interesting discussion…

Yes, very interesting. how many people can truly stay above the fray? Are we also here on earth to experience this as well? Even a little bit of conflict on good news network is good to have because it gives Geri a clear answer on what is “good” for the site.

Even if we have all the facts of a situation, everyone still interprets them from their own minds.

And I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t read the whole thing, just the headline and took a good look at the photo. It was enough for me to understand what the situation entailed…he said, she said, an object of conflict and police were involved. What more does one have to say? Hopefully someone will reach out to these people with happiness, understanding, good intentions, and smile, or they will just rise above the fray all alone.

Here’s to their life lessons, their evolution, their higher selves… 🙂

Perspective is everything isn’t it.
I did a little research on this one to try and find the original source in order to get some of those pertinent missing details. Like for instance this ball and many others have found their way into Edna’s backyard. They are on her property, uninvited. Also, there is a history of dispute amongst neighbors in the area about where it is appropriate for children to play, so somebody’s kids are causing a number of people some disruption. She was charged and is awaiting a hearing, a waste of tax dollars and police resources. It was the father of the kids who called the cops.
Neighborliness is unfortunately not mandatory, its optional. It sounds to me like the parents of the children could do a little more to instill a bit of respect for other peoples property and place in their children. Take your kids to a park and stop harrasing the elderly.
How does getting her arrested improve relations? If my child worked to afford something they wanted and then lost it, I would consider it a lesson to take better care of your things. These parents have also now taught their children to rely on external forces to resolve petty disputes. Grouchy, passive aggressive, mean people exist, I have always found it best
To Leave Them Alone.
A truly unhappy story all around for all parties involved.

i’m was kinda happy to see this video. i’m sure the old lady isn’t in much legal trouble, they’ll probably let her off with a warning. the old lady said herself, she would rather be arrested then give the ball back. i am still a younger person so i still have the perspective that our seniors, and elderly think because they are old that they can get away with petty things like this, always trying to teach someone a lesson. i’m glad the family didn’t stand for it and maybe that old lady will learn her lesson. maybe they all learned a lesson.

Why is this behavior being considered passive agressive? Edna was not passive in any way–clearly from the posts above as well as the mom’s comments that this was the 6th ball in her yard, Edna has made herself very clear–no doubt shouting “keep your balls out of my yard!” after every ball. The kids didn’t change their behavior, the parents didn’t make them take responsibility for their actions, and Edna lost it. Being kind does not mean allowing people to consistently disrepect your boundaries. Could/should Edna lighten up a bit? Sure! Could/should the kids keep their balls out of her yard? Absolutely! The parents don’t need to be “super enlightened” to tell their kids to stay out of Edna’s yard. They just have to care enough to respect her wishes.

I am amazed at the lack of compassion this thread has showed to Edna. As a parent, I would expect and make sure that my child respected her elders and our neighbors. It is not kind to disrepect your neighbors. It is not kind to fail to teach your children how to get along nicely with others. All the parties involved could have done better.

I am a new member and agree whole heartedly that this post has totally bummed me out. I clicked on the headline because it seemed out of place. I watched the video and felt betrayed by the very sentiment that made me join this site in the first place. If I want to deal with petty issues and people losing it, I can step outside my door. I am responding to this thread because I am angry. This site is supposed to be safe place to get inspired, a touchstone for goodness. Geri–you posted this story saying, basically, “hey can you believe what this old lady did? How dare she?”. Not positive, not good news, not even psychologically interesting (I have a ph.d in the field and don’t think Edna’s, the parents’, or the kids’ behavior is particulary uncommon…hence the point of the specialness of a site dedicated to GOOD news). Stating that the story is not “literally good news” does NOT inform the reader that it’s going to be bad news. I’m disappointed. You asked for feedback, there it is.