What is it that compels high school kids into driving down the road in the middle of the night smashing mailboxes? It seems that every town has its culprits and most go uncaught and/or unpunished. The postal service claims a mailbox is Federal property and anyone found guilty of tampering with one can face fines, be imprisoned or both.
Perhaps it is time we used an old fashioned method. A few years back, my brother in law, Jim got his mailbox smashed by a couple of youngsters out on a vandalism spree. Unfortunately for them, Jim happened to see them perform the act. After jumping in his car and chasing them down, (a violation in it's own right), he managed to get their plate number and called the police. Once confronted, the kids confessed. The parents offered to pay for the damages if charges were not filed. Fortunately my brother in law had a better idea. He insisted that the kids be forced to completely repair the damage. The parents agreed.
A few days later the mother of the guilty brought them over to begin repairing the mailbox. Jim explained that he expected them to repair it back to pre-smashed condition. It meant they had to replace or repair the post, the cross-arm and the mailbox. After a bit of grumbling, they got to work. Since it was late spring in our region, the mosquitoes and black flies were out in full force. The mother simply sat in her car with the windows rolled up, AC on and read a book while the boys slaved away.
After about thirty minutes and countless fly bites later, they finally had a new hole dug for the post. Meanwhile increased vehicle traffic began slowly rolling past. It seems Jim let the entire neighborhood know the "vandals" were fixing his box. It was natural for residents to drive by to get a good look at them, in the event of future mishaps. Each time a car passed, the boys just held their heads low.
An hour later, they had the new post installed and the cross-arm in place. The flies and comment-rich public was really giving them a hard time. They must have heard, "I bet you won't do that again boys," at least fifty times.
Next it was time to fix the dents in the mailbox. After another 30 minutes of trying, they finally decided it would be best to replace it. At this point Jim asked, "Well, which of you is going to head down to the hardware store and buy one?" Holding their heads low, they confessed that they had no money. So Jim gave them an option, ten hours labor in his yard doing all kinds of chores or figuring out a way to pay for it. Apparently the thought of spending anymore time then necessary in the presence of flies and onlookers had taken its toll on the boys. They ran over and begged their mother to loan them the money. Fortunately the mother, who found the whole adventure amusing, finally gave in. Off to the hardware store they went. Twenty minutes later they were back installing the mailbox. The whole evolution took most of an afternoon, but the boys looked like it had taken 12 hours.
Now it was time for Jim to inspect the work. Both boys just stood there, getting eaten alive by flies, as he looked it over, and over and over. Finally, just when they thought he was going make them start over, he looked them in the eyes and asked, "Tell me boys, do you think replacing this mailbox was a lot of hard work?"
"Yes sir," they both chimed in.
"Do you think that next time you will think about the hardship you put onto others when you decide not to use common sense?"
Both of them just bowed their heads and agreed with a mumble and a nod. Jim stood there for a minute trying to decide if they had learned their lesson. With a wrinkled brow, he finally decided to let them off the hook. Hopefully the lesson will result in two less vandals in the world.
It's interesting to note that both of the teens are now in their early twenties and appear to be fine young men. One can't help but wonder if Jim's lesson had anything to do with it? www.ruralmailboxes.com
this was a well written, interesting article. oh, if only we could act like our parents and grandparents did, and in this case, you did. good for you.
we had a boy throw paint at a van parked on the street. my partner had seen the boy, and knew who he was. the next time the boy came walking up the street, he waved for him to come to the porch. my partner told him he knew he was the one who got the paint on the van, and his father has about 6 vintage cars at his house, and he wondered how he'd feel if someone poured pain on them? we haven't had any trouble since.
thanks for sharing, and i hope you continue writing,
Thank you for the kind words regarding my article.
Some think that once a child reaches a certain age, its impossible to change them. I believe that utilizing the best, "corrective action" to drive a point home, will certainly help at any age. None of us are ever too old to learn from our own mistakes or the thoughtless things we sometimes do to others.
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