Thank ya'll for the added cheer! Vickie- Thank you. Yes we did have some neighbor children get their pictures made here yesterday. The R/W/B plumes came from probably Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago. I'm pretty good at saving things from year to year like most pack rats. We went out to the parade, pinwheels twirling in the wind on the tops of our heads. The Village newsletter photographer came and photographed me and Hubs standing out there looking like the fat and older version of "4th of July Barbie and Ken". We got all kinds of candy thrown ***AT**** us. LOL The neighbors inquired about how much coffee we had drank that morning. I think they are planning an INTERVENTION for sure now. Ya'll there was no marching band, no drum chore, nothing that made me hop the barracades and join the parade. How can you get parade happy without the sound of sweaty feet marching in white boots???? No veterans, no rifle chore. There was not one baton except on the belts of the policemen (we wont go there). My New Orleans exposure wanted the opporitunity to grab a handkercheif and wave it around and prance along after the a band. BUT NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O. Hubs says that I should insist on being on the parade committee next year. I'm half joking because we are but a little Village and not a city. But even a BOOM BOX playing "Stars and Strips Forever" would have helped. Life needs Music as a backdrop. Sweet karen- when things are not clicking, you have got to change the Spiritual environment. Put on the music that appeals to the proper mood that you need to be in. Hubs installed speakers throughout the house a couple of years ago (he crashed through the ceiling but that is another story). He even put them on the front and back porches. When I need to garden out front, I play nature music and the song "What A Wonderful World'. If I need to reflect on my grandbabylove, I play Connie Talbot. If I need to pray, I play Spiritual music. Being around my house is like being in a dramatic soap opera without the organ music. (Ya have to draw the line somewhere, LOL). But I had myself all jacked up for this parade thingy by watching videos of marching bands on the Internet. When I am truly down and out I usually tell Hubs, "I just cant hear the music lately". But search because music can be powerful. Heaven is supposed to be full of LIVE music!!!! Anywho, we went to the fireworks display and guess what? The fireworks Company had huge speakers with contemporary Patriotic songs!!!! It was a mezmerising (sp?) light show. I cant say that I got the whole 1776 feel for what happened but I can assure you those Freedom Fighters were sweatin' in July.

Alls I have to say Robin, is that I'm not picking apart anything you did. I'm just telling you that at my age, I've seen a lot where kids and divorces are concerned......not only as a family member of some, as a peace officer, as an employee of a Child protective service, and as a kid's nurse. I am just saying that you would never believe how twisted some things can get, when/if they end up with third parties having to step in. You cannot help another person's agenda......and it isn't always clear what the best action is when you are put on a spot. What I am saying is that it seldom is any benefit to do anything out of retribution and that you need to CYA in all your actions, evidently and do everything with a clear head and forethought. It might be very helpful to you down the line to keep a journal and document everything with times/dates/names. If your ex-partner is gaming with you, resist playing along if possible. What I have seen over the years is situations do not necessarily resolve automatically when divorces are final. They can get even grosser. How you deal with your ex now can impact tremendously what gets dished back at you down the line. That's why I mentioned sometimes it's best to keep your cards close to your breast at this point. There may be nothing at all you can do to work this out amicably........but it would be very sad if every time there is a visitation LF has to be in the middle. I have no answers or advice, really. It's just hard enough for a kid to have divorced parents without having to deal with issues. Even in 'easy' divorces, they have their plates full.

I never heard of *Bell Mobility* as a company. The #77 does not connect to anything. That being said, it has been in the newspapers in my city, and I'm sure in others, that people often do impersonate police officers. It is also a good idea NOT to just open you door to someone claiming to be a police officer without calling the station first to see if you should let them in. Here is a link that might be useful: Snopes

Happy Ending -- I decided to take Notwicked & Sylvia's advice and called the Village police station. They knew immediately who I was and why I was calling. Turns out the accident occured just over the Village limits. The desk seargent said that since they knew the 'big city' couldn't be bothered with a no-injury, no-damage to another vehicle accident, and since it was out of their jurisdiction, they didn't pursue it. But they said that this is the kind of thing they normally get very involved in, because as a residential village with lots of small kids, speeding is one of our larger problems, and it was obvious to the officer that the kid had been speeding. He asked if I wanted to press charges and said I could, but that I'd have to go to court and testify. I explained that my concern was not to punish the kid, but mainly to be sure that he learned enough of a lesson so that he wouldn't kill himself or someone else before he grew up enough to know better. I explained that I had a 16 year old son myself, and that as a parent, I would want to know what had happened so I could take appropriate action with my son. So the sergeant offered to call the kid's parents to discuss the accident, and I said I thought that would be great. He called me back a few minute ago to let me know that the parents were very grateful to have been called. So I'm guessing that's about as happy an ending as there could be. Thanks for the good advice --