Matt, Ian, and Michael**...

(**Names NOT changed because some are not so innocent!)

Let me tell you about three boys - Matt, Ian, and Michael.

Matt and Ian are brothers. Matt is older, about 10 years old. He doesn't seem like a horrible kid, except he's kinda whiny, and the poor boy has such an overbite, he looks like a groundhog.

Ian is the younger brother and he's about 6 years old. He's the kind of kid you'd like to strangle. And you would enjoy every moment of it too. He's a rotten brat and is always doing things that really aren't *appropriate*, and his parents never discipline him for anything so far as I can tell.

Michael is about 4 years old. Totally unrelated to Matt and Ian. Today, Frodo and I are at the pool and Matt, Ian, and Michael are there. Ian is being his usual brat. Matt is whining, and poor little Michael has no idea what he's about to get into....

Michael's dad is sitting on a lounge chair, talking on his cell phone. Matt and Ian's dad is off on another lounge chair, seemingly watching what is going on in the pool. I'm in a lounge chair myself, tossing the diving ring in for Frodo to dive for, because that way I don't have to get into the cold water, and Frodo is happy to have something to do.

I tell Frodo that I'm done with the diving ring *game*, and I'd like to read for a little bit. I also lean in close and tell him to steer clear of Ian - he's just one of those kids that you *know* is trouble. Frodo has seen him before, so he knows him, and agrees to stay away. I settle back and just watch the pool for a few minutes. I see Ian and Michael have made acquaintance. I watch for a moment and realize that Ian is inching Michael towards a deeper part of the pool that is still shallow enough for Ian, but not Michael.

Michael is telling Ian to stop and Ian doesn't. I notice Michael is starting to get into water a bit deep. I pause for a split second to see if his dad or if Ian's dad is noticing. Michael's dad is still gabbing on his cell phone. Ian's dad seems oblivious. I jump out of my chair and leap into the pool and scoop Michael up. He's coughing and gagging on pool water. I turn to Ian and say, "You NEVER push a smaller child EVER again!!" And I take Michael up to his dad.

Michael is okay. A little shaken, but able to cough up all the pool water. I grab my towel and sit back on my chair, and throw Ian a glare that probably would've made the inhabitants of hell feel uneasy. After about 5 minutes, I see Michael is wanting to get back into the water, and his dad comes and thanks me and apologizes for losing track of his own son. I explained to him that I've seen Ian around before and know that he is not a child to be trusted, so I'd just been keeping an extra close eye on him. The whole rest of the time, I see Michael's dad keeping his eye on his own child, thank goodness. Now I can relax a bit. ;)

Frodo is happy in the water for a short while, then starts getting cold. We bask in the sun briefly to dry off, and Michael and his dad get up to leave and stop and thank me again. They made my day by doing that. I see Ian and Matthew and their dad get up to leave a few minutes later as well. By this time, it's getting late, so Frodo and I head home as well.


Watch for Ian on the news in a couple decades - he'll probably be a serial killer.