My neighbor tore up my lawn with his motorcycle and acted like it was nothing — the next morning, a little “surprise” was waiting for him.

Kyle blocked her driveway late at night.

Dennis apologized politely.

Kyle did it again.

The Nguyen family watched him cut across the edge of their carefully maintained lawn more than once.

Eventually, they stopped saying anything.

I watched.

I remembered.

And I wrote things down.

Roy used to joke that I had the mind of an auditor.

He meant it affectionately.

I always observe before I act.

I collect information.

I wait until individual incidents begin forming a pattern.

By the end of summer, Kyle’s pattern was obvious.

Eventually, he