These boots are made for walking

I love a good deal.

I went shopping with my friend Abby today, and found these boots on sale, in my size, in a taupe color. Including the 15% off coupon Abby happened to have on her, I paid just $33! They were orginally $148, and even more online.

So now I have  boots that are kinda cowboyish. They aren't red, which I really wanted. But I got them so cheap that if I ever see a nice pair of red cowboy boots, I can buy them too.

I also went to the eye doctor and got a new pair of eyeglasses that are totally different from anything I've ever worn before. So, a successful day, even if it was pouring rain and yucky out.

Law & Order Montpelier style

Here's a juicy item in our Sunday paper:

“Police late Friday night found what appeared to be the remnants of days of underage drinking at a Liberty Street residence.

Montpelier police were informed of an underage drinking party by an anonymous caller, who told police Miles F.’s parents were out of town in Thailand and that in their absence underage drinking was occurring on several evenings.

Police arrived shortly before midnight Friday to find empty, partially empty and full beer bottles scattering the residence, loud music playing, dozens of empty beer cases in trash bags on the porch and two teenagers just arriving. Miles F. was not there.

Police poured out the partially filled bottles, took six full beers as evidence, told the arriving teens to tell their friend that police would be watching the place, secured the door as much as possible and left a Montpelier Police Department business card.

Officers were also trying to contact the homeowners. No charges have been filed.”

One of the “arriving teenagers” is a kid I know. I saw her in school today and had a lengthy conversation with her. I also learned more from other parents.

The mom had asked a woman named Judy, who is quite well-known for being flighty and flaky, to stay at her house with her two kids (for some reason the second, older one, was not mentioned). Despite being given this responsibility, she had left for a few days to "give the boys some space." Don't even get me started on what I would want to do to someone who I entrusted to take care of my kid who then decides to leave for a few days.

Here are some interesting questions:

1. Can the police just enter a house like this, and gather evidence, without a warrant, on the basis of an anonymous phone call? The girl I talked to said she saw no evidence of a warrant. Does the fact that the door was open make a difference? How did the cops know the drinkers were underage if no one was there?

2. Can the police demand that the teenagers give their name? The girl I talked to was told that she had to do that. She was very upset by the whole thing, mainly by the way the cops were acting. They were bullying her and demanding information, when all she did was show up after the cops had gotten there.

3. Should the cops have released Miles’ name? Why didn’t they just release the homeowner’s name – which would be the mom’s name (and there is no dad involved, just a mom). Miles is 16 or 17. In fact, for all the cops know Miles could have been out of town too and other kids decided to use the empty house to party in.

Montpelier kids are so newsworthy. Just a few weeks ago, at a house on the same street, the cops/EMS transported a bunch of MHS kids to the hospital after they all got sick from pot brownies.