Imagine our surprise this afternoon when a police officer showed up at our front door. I mean, we’re not running an illegal dog-fighting business or anything like that. We’re law-abiding citizens.

It seems that one of our neighbors (we’re pretty sure we know which one) called the police because our son, pictured above, was shooting his Red Ryder BB gun in the backyard, and it is illegal to do that within city limits. The officer was apologetic as he spoke to us — telling us that it is a silly law, but a law nonetheless. We were unaware of the law, and will certainly comply from now on.

But that’s not what bothers me about all this.

What bothers me is that our neighbor would actually call the police about something like this! When our son shoots his BB gun in the backyard, he generally sets up a target (or an old action figure) on the back of the deck and shoots at it. The only person who might get hurt is him. As you can see, the only thing behind our backyard is an open field — no houses, no people. Why in the world would they call the police? If they’re concerned that he might harm himself or someone else, why not come over and tell us? Calling the police seems like an extreme measure.

Even the police officer thought the whole thing was rather silly. We’re just going to ignore it, go on with our lives, and obey the law. But the whole thing just makes me sad. What happened to just being neighborly?