New high-tech answer to old-timey problem

“Ring and Run” isn’t a new rock group but an old-fashioned way for kids to annoy their neighbors. It’s pretty much what it sounds like – dash up to a house, ring the doorbell, then dash away into the night.



Kodak moment: This kid forgot to smile

when he dashed up to Lauren’s home recently to

cause a little mischief. PHOTO / R2D2

It all sounds pretty darn innocent but it can also be pretty darn annoying if it happens to be 1 in the morning and you’re snoozing soundly in bed. That’s how it all played out recently in my neighborhood.

If it was Friday – at least for a few weeks in late spring – the lovely Miss Wendy and I could pretty much expect our doorbell to chime once the sun sailed below the horizon. The good news, I guess, is many of my neighbors were suffering along with us.

Finally, irritated and frustrated by the ding-dong foolishness, I checked out the area around the front of our house every 15 minutes or so one evening and, wait for it, I spotted a group of neighborhood teens casually walking down the street. A moment later they scattered, each dashing up to a nearby home.

Just as a kid approached my porch, I switched on an outside light and pulled open the door. The kid bolted and I began racing after him like a demented banshee – even though I’m neither Irish nor a female. After only a moment or so I realized I had no idea what I’d do with the youngster if I actually caught him.

Truth to tell, the whole stalking about and chasing was a bad idea. It only encouraged the teens to return and ring away some more. Once I began ignoring them, the tribe – I’m thinking they were way too preppie to be labeled a gang – grew bored and, I’m happy to report, have apparently found other ways to amuse themselves.

An interesting footnote to all this drama: A few weeks after all this played out my daughter Lauren called and said the “ring and run” pandemic had spread to her neighborhood. The big difference this time around is that Lauren’s hubby Josh is a high-tech guru.

That pretty much means he’s wired their house with the latest digital gadgets – flat-screen TVs, streaming music, multi-magic light controls and, of course, motion detectors and video cameras. So within a few moments of a kid ringing and running at their home, they had his image downloaded off their video monitor and onto Facebook.

I’m thinking they need to stick his picture on their front door now and offer this advice for other would-be pranksters: At this house it’s called “Ring, Run – and Smile!”