06/27/2024
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On Tuesday evening, my kid and their friends (4th and 5th graders) were at Arbor Lodge Park. I was at the school working on Playground Project chores.
At 9:24pm, I heard that an older guy with a cane had yelled at the kids and was now following them around.
After my brief interaction with the guy, he left the park with his grandson.
I chalked it up to boomers policing the way kids play and decided to not blast him publicly.
On Wednesday night, I was back at the school playground and watering. At 7pm, my kid walked over to join me. He found his friend’s toy that had been lost the night before and took it to the friend’s house.
I looked up from watering and saw the grandson from the night before. Then I saw his grandpa over by the oak tree. The grandpa didn’t have a cane this time. He had a long walking stick and was swinging it around. They eventually left the school playground.
My kid and his friend came over to the school to play. Eventually, they said they wanted to go to the park. At that point, I let them know that I had seen the grandpa and his grandson. I said I would put the watering equipment away, lock up, and then I would go with them to the park.
We walked along Bryant. I saw the grandpa’s minivan parked in the same spot as the night before. I scanned the park, and saw him sitting with his back to me.
After a quick talk with the kids about staying clear of the grandpa and his grandson, they took off to climb a tree. I sat at a picnic table behind the grandpa.
The grandson ran over to my kid and his friend.
The grandson told them: we’ve been looking for you. My grandpa thought we got here too late and missed you. But we actually just got here too early. [The kids told me about this later.]
This was a red flag for the kids.
The grandpa got up and started walking towards the kids. I got up and moved quickly to get between him and the kids.
He saw me. I couldn’t hear what he said, but his grandson ran back to him and they quickly started to walk to the minivan.
The grandson saw me and pointed at me. The grandpa swatted the grandson’s hand down and did not look my way. They got into the minivan and left.
I immediately checked in with the kids and asked them if they heard what the grandpa said. He had told the grandson that the pizza was late and they had to go. Another red flag for the kids. They said: if the pizza was late, wouldn’t that mean that they actually had more time to play?
I am now very suspicious of the grandpa’s intentions.
My kid will no longer be playing at the park without an adult with him and I think it would be a good idea for others to be vigilant.
Here are photos from last night. I’m also going to do a longer and more detailed write up for a police report. If you know me, involving the police is not something I take lightly.
