everything counts

so the neighbor
justifies throwing their trash in our sack
by saying
my (87-year-old) dad
told her
(7-year-old) granddaughter
that they could throw their trash
in our sacks.

really???

i ask my dad
and he says
he never said such a thing
adding he buys those sacks
(in which we put our trash).

okay.
i believe him
not because he's my dad
but because his response
is sensible.

there are adults in that house.
why would he choose to relay such a message, if ever,
to a young girl?
and yeah, why would he send such a message at all?

if i were to make sense of things,
what i would be thinking
is that my dad probably saw
the children playing in the alley
and told the granddaughter
to throw their litter
in our trash.

that's it.
end of story.
that would be
what would come to MY mind.

now the tricky part.

i wonder what would come to a young girl's mind.
that my dad is giving them
an open-ended blanket invitation
to throw their trash
in our sacks?
would that be how young girls think?
is that how this young girl thinks?

how would she have announced it to her grandmother, if ever?
seriously?  gleefully?  what?

and if one were the grandmother
hearing something like that
from her granddaughter,
what would come to her mind?
that henceforth they could throw
THEIR household trash
in OUR sacks?

how would she have taken it, if ever?
excitedly?  no skepticism whatsoever?  what?

would she not even feel
that there is something off?
would she not even wonder about the absurdity of the situation?

"i am responsible for what i say.
i am not responsible for what you understand."

who misinterpreted things, if ever?
the grandmother?
the granddaughter?

i'm inclined toward track record
but could not discount the saying,
"the apple does not fall far from the tree."

it would be interesting to know
what actually transpired.

meanwhile, this song is playing in my head:

♩ ♪  the grabbing hands
grab all they can  ♫ ♬