“The Only Downside…

of my new apartment is that my bedroom wall borders the yard of the elementary school next door. So, every morning, around 7:45 am, I hear the little darlings kicking the soccer ball as hard as they can, then yelling, ‘SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!’,” I was telling my friend as he drove me home from work. “That’s a little annoying. But other than that, I love it.”

As I put my key into the lock, I noticed a bright orange flyer on the floor of my lobby, slipped under the door. I stooped closer to read.

“DEAR NEIGHBORS,

One of our second graders kicked a ball with such force as he was playing soccer that his shoe flew off his food and sailed over your fence.

Would you please help him retrieve it from your backyard and throw it back over the fence to the school yard? He would appreciate it immensely. The emergency sandal that we fashioned from packing foam and duct tape made him the object of some good humored teasing.

I know he’ll be more careful next time. Thanks for your kindness!

Signed, The Principal”

I laughed until tears streamed from my eyes. Then I found a flashlight, went into the backyard and searched for the missing shoe. It took me three tries to get it back over the 30 foot high fence. That must have been one hell of a kick.