This last week it was just Pete and Stella and me. Pete asked me every day, sometimes umpty-eleven times a day, if I'd help him make a lemonade stand. Later, I said. Wait until Joe gets back home. I can't stay with you at a lemonade stand because Stella takes too much chasing. There's not enough traffic at our house and around the corner there's too much traffic for you to be alone. Later.
Thirty minutes later: "Mama, when can I make a lemonade stand?"
I emailed my pal Jenny who lives around the corner and asked if her kids, lemonade stand veterans, could help us out. Sure, she said. How about Friday?
On Friday they lugged their stuff out to the corner and started setting up. The lady from the house at the corner came zooming out. You kids get off my lawn, she said. The last time you were here you left a big mess.
It wasn't us, the kids asserted. It was Michael, from down the block. We don't leave a mess.
They started packing up anyway, until their dad came out and asked them why. He said, "You're not on her lawn. The sidewalk is not her property. You kids can stay here with your lemonade stand."
Shortly afterward -- brace yourselves -- the cops showed up. They stepped out of the squad car and sauntered over to the lemonade stand. Pete (this part breaks my heart) started to cry: he thought the cops had come to arrest them all and take them away. Jenny's boy Jack, who is Pete's friend even though they are almost five years apart, tried to comfort him.
Mercifully, Jenny's husband was still there. The cops said, "We've had a complaint that these kids have been leaving styrofoam cups all over the place." Inadvertently, the neighbor had given the kids some ammunition. "Styrofoam!" they exclaimed. "We NEVER use styrofoam cups. We haven't used styrofoam cups in FOUR YEARS of lemonade stands."
They waved their recyclable plastic cups around. They offered the cops a free sample. The cops declined, pleasantly, and grumbled briefly about having been called out to deal with a perfectly legal lemonade stand run by polite responsible kids.
Pete stopped crying. Jenny's kids told him he could keep all the proceeds. He came home with the money clenched in his little fist, feeling proud and a little bit braver. We had a chat about the limits of police power, and the reality that 6-year-old boys don't generally have to worry about being arrested and taken away.
I am still thinking, DANG! Who calls the cops on a lemonade stand?
Geez, your neighbors! Their nearly as bad as mine used to be, and that's only because she moved out after her boyfriend was asassinated over drugs.
Posted by: Svetlana | June 25, 2011 at 10:32 PM
Your neighbors are CRAZY! Except for the nice, polite ones.
Posted by: Amy F | June 25, 2011 at 10:35 PM
Wow. Poor Pete. My heart is so sad to think that he was scared. That was not very neighborly!
Posted by: Tracy | June 25, 2011 at 11:56 PM
WHAT is wrong with your neighbours? First, the horrific CPS-calling harpy, then this. Or was it the same person? Poor, sweet Pete.
Posted by: Sarah in Ottawa | June 26, 2011 at 10:17 PM
We have a cops-calling neighbor also. It's always trumped-up and/or fallacious accusations. The first time it happened we were shocked and humiliated and our kids were scared too. I'm sorry to hear that our Mrs. Neighbor's sister must live near you.
Posted by: Marcie | June 27, 2011 at 09:50 AM
Man, you struck out where neighbors are concerned! Who calls the cops on children who haven't done anything wrong?! I want to love thy neighbor and feel compassion for that person and what drives their compulsions, but I'm stuck on your son's tears. What sweet and empathetic friends he has, though. They and their parents are to be commended. Hugs to you for yet another neighborly smackdown, Jamie.
Posted by: Celeste | June 27, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Good grief! Did you loose the neighbor-lottery or what? I hate that people can't tell kids apart, or don't take the trouble to even try.
What's wrong with just walking out and reminding them to clean up after themselves and bringing a paper bag to help collect litter? All friendly-like.
And calling the POLICE? For REAL? People need some real problems to keep them busy.
Posted by: Sarah | June 27, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Part of me...OK, most of me is a little amazed that the police actually CAME, and didn't politely but firmly tell the lady (I assume lady) that she'd have to work that one out for herself.
Glad it all worked out in the end.
Posted by: Kristin | June 30, 2011 at 11:32 AM
Whoa...you know, I really want to be angry at your neighbor, but most of all I love the take-away lessons. Limits of police power - EXACTLY. Way to puncture the efforts of a bully.
Posted by: Kira | June 30, 2011 at 02:04 PM
We used to live down the street from the neighborhood swimming pool. The corner was a great lemonade stand spot, and fortunately, our neighbors were nice and didn't mind the kids. But then the overhead on lemonade and cups was killing me, so they switched to selling freezer pops. If you can keep the kids from dropping the cut-off ends, it might be even less messy, too. But I doubt those plastic tubes are recyclable.
Posted by: Emily J. | July 03, 2011 at 08:50 PM