Kicking the anthill

Minor excitement in my neighborhood this morning as a fellow who was either off the right meds or on the wrong ones gave several people the alarmed creeps over the course of the morning.  He ultimately followed my next-door neighbor right up to her house, making inappropriate conversation, and increasing the "eww" factor by choosing to take off his shirt as they approached the door.  She went inside, locked the door, armed herself, and called for help.  Presently her husband and his co-worker arrived (armed) to block off our "loop" on both ends, while various other neighbors ventured out (armed) to see what was up, the phone tree having reached most nearby households by that time.  Two sheriff's deputies arrived to take him into custody at about the time more distant neighbors started driving up (armed) to look into something they'd heard on the scanner.

Once he'd been hauled off, my neighbor's husband came home to hear the details from her.  When she got to the part about the guy taking off his shirt, her husband's face assumed a dead-eyed expression I'd never seen on it before.  He's normally the most amiable of fellows.  His face made me want to back up a step.

We get the occasional passers-through who irritate us mildly by loitering on our loop for the apparent purpose of drinking a six-pack and dumping the cans before driving home, or perhaps waiting for a chance to ditch an old appliance rather than spend the time or money necessary to leave it at the dump.  We invite them to clear out, but we don't go ape.  This guy didn't do or say anything overtly threatening.  Nevertheless, he punched every button we own, inducing that atavistic reaction of "snake.  Kill it."  The sheriff's deputies were giving his truck and his person a thorough searching the last I saw.  If he was carrying, he picked the wrong way to call attention to himself.