The Citrus War of 2013

So what do well over 100 bored high school students do to entertain themselves on a nice, warm Wednesday Autumn evening  in Phoenix? Why, strap on helmets (yes, helmets) and pelt each other with fruit in the park and the streets, of course! Such was the commotion that sent our dogs into full-on freak-out mode last night around 10 pm. At first, all we heard was a small ruckus - squealing, yelling, and screaming in front of our house - and I was a little worried about the cars, so I turned on the porch light. That's when I realized there was a decent sized group of kids on the edge of our yard. Rich stuck his head out to see what was up and realized they were throwing things at each other. His request that they not make a mess in our front yard was either ignored, or more likely not heard, as they were having way too much fun running, laughing, screaming, and winging fruit at each other.

Rich went into the back yard to check the side street and watch the evening's entertainment. We live at the end of our block, right across the street from a park. It turns out there were WELL over 100 high school students yelling and running through the neighborhood, pounding each other with fruit, until someone inevitably yelled, "Cops!!!" It was quickly echoed by others, and yes, the police did show up - by car, by SUV, and even by helicopter. Kids went flying in every direction. It was pretty hysterical to watch through the front door. The helicopter had the search light on, as they circled the park and our neighborhood. They were using the loudspeaker, and they were clearly chasing down anyone they could catch trying to make a break for it.

I have to say I feel somewhat sorry for these kids. While I'm not thrilled about the dozen or so oranges in our front yard and street, no damage was done. And as my husband said, "hey, it's biodegradable." Ha Ha  It could have been MUCH worse - like the teenage "fight club" the police broke up in the park a couple of years ago, although at least those guys were wearing sparring gloves and using referees.  However, when you start charging $1 admission to a couple hundred 18-25 year olds, city officials tend to frown on that kind of thing going on in the park.

According to our neighbors, the kids named tonight the Jr. vs. Sr. Prom Citrus War... or something along those lines. There ammunition depot (or what's left of it) was a couple of big, black trash bags full of fruit, which I found in the park this morning at the base of a tree directly across from our house. 

What I really want to know is who in the world thinks this stuff up? Maybe it's a normal thing here where citrus trees grow on every corner? I'm guessing a few of them are going to be sporting some nice bruises tomorrow...and secretly giggling in class as they remember running from the cops over a bunch of fruit.  Let's hope it's the worst thing they ever do... but I doubt it. By the light of morning, the gutters and a few yards (including ours), as well as the park, are polka-dotted with fruit - mainly unripe oranges, some grapefruit (ouch!), and some apples. But the neighborhood smells citrusy-fresh! :)