wierdboy theater

there;s this kid who always plays in the park behind my house. he's kinda chubby with dark brown hair and probably about 13yo. he dresses with the requisite loose-fitting nylon sporty shorts & baggy black tshirt, so i suppose he kinda blends in among his peers, despite the fact that we never really see jim playing with any other kids. and he seems oblivious to the fact that we (and presumably others) can see what he does alone in the park. and we have a particularly advantageous viewpoint. our breakfast table window is in the far back corner of the park - behind some large bushes. so he does lots of play-acting right in front of our window, unknowingly making a little private wierdboy theatre for us.

the first time we saw him he was running around with a big plastic shield & sword acting out a bloody battle scene in which he was defeating ... himself? but ah, boys will be boys. the next time he had a plastic gun. once he had no props, but was using the lightpost as a secret command post.. entering digits on an imaginary 10-key and talking to co-conspirators. he also does a good deal of the secret-agent gymnastic tumbling. jumping out of the way of imaginary gunfire to rolling on the ground and quickly running in a crouch from tree to lightpost, evading detection. or so he thinks. the irony of this is what really cracks me up.

recently he has started hanging out with some friends more often, and even has a young recruit. they play on the flat roof next door to us above the curtain shop, leaning out from the building laying in wait for their enemies.. with plastic guns cocked and headbands fastened.. shouting reconnaisance to each other.

its all pretty humorous, but also a little creepy. we wonder if he'll grow up to be a good guy or a bad guy.