Our 4th of July started out nice and relaxed. We slept in and hung around the house until noon or so, and then we went to the big parade. We had a great time at the parade, and walked on down the street to our friends' house. They live only a block from where the parade goes by and three blocks from where one of our suburbs has the best 4th of July celebration each year. We always go to their house each year to BBQ some food, have some drinks, swim and generally fool around. It's always a good time.
This year, we took Chris' nephews. They weren't really invited - his dad just brought them over to our house before we left and dumped them off. Greeeeaaaaat. We really didn't think it would be a problem - they're usually pretty good kids (well, 19 and 21 year old kids, that is).
So, as I and a few others (mostly kids) had a water fight & fooled around in the back yard, the guys inside got the party started by doing a few shots of whisky. Yeah, great idea. *snarls*
The party continued on for a while, some cooking and good natured silliness...then we decided to head down the street to the carnival/celebration thing at the park. Chris, I and the D-man went down together. We bought D a wrist band and he had a blast on all the rides and inflatables (yes, I have pictures). After a couple of hours, Chris got a call from up at the house to come get Josh (the 19 year old) and take him home because he was being a jerk. Chris headed up there and the D-man and I stayed behind.
This is where things get a bit muddy as I wasn't there and have heard about 3 different versions of the story. Supposedly, Josh got a hold of some bottle rockets and wanted to shoot them off. They are illegal here, and the people who lived there didn't want to get in trouble nor did they want any of the little ones to get hurt, so they told him not to shoot them. He ignored their request and started shooting them off, reportedly AT the house and the kids. Clayton (one of our best friends who happens to live there) got upset with him and took the bottle rockets away from him. Josh got all puffed up and pissed off and started pushing Clayton around. Lots of yelling and cursing ensued, and Josh was he was told to leave (which he, of course, did not).
Chris arrived and shoved Josh in the car to get him out of there. Before Chris could get in the car, Josh came back out and went after Clayton, nailing him with a roundhouse kick to the head. Clayton went down and Josh started kicking him in the head and all over, stomping on him and pretty much beating him to a pulp.
By this time, many neighbors had gathered around, and after Josh was pulled off of Clayton it was apparent that he was hurt badly. 911 was called and, being only a few blocks from the celebration, the cops and an ambulance were there in no time.
Chris called me and told me what happened as the D-man and I were walking up the street looking at all the cop cars and emergency vehicles up there. I am so thankful that we were not there when this happened as it is certainly something that the D-man did not need to see. When we arrived, Chris took D into the back yard away from the chaos. I attended to children and dogs, shooing them inside the house and determined that Josh was in a cop car going to jail and Clayton was being strapped on a back board with a neck brace and being put into an ambulance. They were whisked away, and I gathered up our stuff so we, too, could head out. I took the other nephew home, then took D and Chris home and then headed to the hospital.
Fortunately, Claytons injuries don't appear to be as bad as originally thought, though we're really not sure yet. They were concerned that his neck could be broken as well as his hip. After some x-rays, it appears that the hip is simply dislocated and his neck is ok. Another friend and I stayed with Clayton in the ER and tried to comfort him as he was in a horrible amount of pain and distress. Finally, after the x-rays and a lecture from a doctor about his blood alcohol level (.23, apparently) they finally gave him some pain killers. When I left the ER a few hours later, he was still strapped on the gurney in his neck brace, sleeping like a baby. A couple of hours later, they did surgery to put his hip back into the socket. I may go up to see him on my lunch hour today, though a phone call I just got from the hospital reported that he is a total wreck and in a horrible amount of pain. She said I shouldn't go up there, but I can't help but feel like I should.
Josh, on the other hand, is in deep shit. Amazingly, they let him out of jail late last night (without bail!?) but it isn't over yet, of course. He's being charged with assault with injury and who knows what else not to mention the fact that he'll likely be sued to pay for Clayton's medical bills.
I am so pissed off I can't even see straight and I'm totally sick to my stomach. I don't want to talk to him or even see him because, if I did, I'd probably knock him flat on his ass. There was no justifiable reason for what he did, not to mention the fact that Clayton is badly hurt and the entire celebration was ruined for the rest of us. He's pulled some stunts in the past, but this one takes the cake. I don't know how much alcohol he had, and maybe that wasn't even a factor. I just don't know. I swear, I will never take him anywhere again and he is no longer welcome in my home or anywhere near me and my family or friends, for that matter.
So as not to disappoint D, we did go with some other friends to see some fireworks after dark. They were OK, but the enthusiasm just wasn't there. Now, I just have to figure out how to control my temper if/when I see that little rat bastard
Un-fucking-believable. We had better not suffer any fallout from this shit. Although we tried our best to shelter D from all of it, I do think it's affecting him because he knows that his cousin beat up Clayton and went to jail. I do not lie to him when he asks questions. This morning when I dropped him off at preschool, he was very clingy and didn't want to let me go. When we finally had to have his teacher pull him off of me, he started crying. It broke my heart.
*sigh*
So, needless to say, I'm quite cranky today and just generally a wreck.
I hope you all had a better Independence Day than we did.
...but wait! Look! Look! A Bunny!
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