Conclusion Jumping

Japanese Gardens, Maymont Park, Richmond, VA.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Don't jump to conclusions - 

there may be a perfectly good explanation

for what you just saw.

Proverbs 25:8

A few weeks ago, the three young boys in my neighborhood who regularly play in the street were standing stock-still, right in the middle of the street behind my house, gawking at the human tableau that was playing out in the front yard and on the porch of a neighbor's home.  There were three police cars in the driveway and on the lawn, and a young man who looked like he had been smacked around a bit was sitting on the porch steps talking to the police while the officer examined his face.   

The house is occupied by a young couple and their two small children, and the guy on the porch appeared to be the husband.  I tried to talk the kids into going on home and minding their own business, but they were having none of that.  While I was trying to coax them, they took about three steps backwards, but it was clear that they were not really going to go anywhere.  I will be truthful and admit that I was curious as well, but I'm a little too old to be standing in the street (or the yard) trying to figure out what is going wrong with my neighbors.  Just as I turned to leave, an officer inside of the home opened the door and the wife went out to the car, retrieved an item, and went back inside the house.

I have thought of this household many times in the ensuing weeks, especially when I walk the neighborhood in the morning.  I immediately assumed that the police were there for a domestic dispute call, and it looked for all the world like the wife had manhandled her hubby, but was that the case?  I had no clue, and to my credit, I remain clueless on what happened that morning.  There may have been a completely innocent reason for the presence of the law there. The point is, I don't need to know what happened because it is none of my business.  

My father always believed that in life as well as in law, people should be assumed innocent until proven guilty.  Always try to believe the best about those around you.  If they are not what they seem, the truth will come out eventually.  It just doesn't need your help