After nearly 9 years, I've met the neighbour.

[Lacunae_Matata]

I happened to be sitting outdoors on the darkened porch when he came around the corner. The local constabulary caught him a few blocks away.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

When we moved into our current house, we made an effort to meet the neighbors. There’s only 5 houses in 2 blocks, so it wasn’t that hard. We invited everyone over for a “meet the new folks” get together, and a few years later, we dropped off boxes of homemade chocolates with everyone around Christmas.

Now I’m not in general partying with these folks, but it’s nice to know I can call one up and say “Doh, I left my garage door up, and I left for vacation, can you go press the button for me?”

[Cheesesteak]

We moved into this house about 7 years ago, and never really had a chance to talk to our backyard neighbor. We’re not often in the yard at the same time, and she doesn’t go to the way back of her yard much at all.

After a while, my wife became convinced that she disliked us (or her) based on a few incidents where the wife would go into the yard and the neighbor would immediately go inside, only to come out again when my wife went inside.

Fast forward to Hurricane Sandy and a large tree limb falls from one neighbor’s yard into my yard and hangs up in a tree in her yard. Nothing happens for months, until I catch her out in the yard and get talking with her about how we can take care of the tree. I get the quotes and the payment arranged, and it’s all taken care of, but still no particular back and forth. Then, my wife bumps into her this past weekend, and they have an hour long pow-wow over the fence and find that they have a bunch of things in common. Guess what, she doesn’t actually hate us for no reason.

[Digital_is_the_new_Analog]

The only neighbor I had that I ever talked to just moved. I haven’t met the new ones yet - they’re moving in from out of state, and I think only came into town for the closing, and then went back to wrap stuff up.

We used to have a fence between the two lots, but it blew down in a storm a while ago. And neither of us cared about it, so we didn’t replace it. (It was there because she didn’t get along with the previous owners of my house). I hope the new neighbors are as nice.

[11811]

@Johnny_L.A

<snip> I think if people live up here, they should like things woodsy.

She lives in Seattle? What does she care if you like things woodsy?

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@ducati

We moved into our current house in 1993. Since I bought it from my uncle, I already knew our neighbor. Let’s call him Crazy Carl.

Since CC and I are ex-cops, and he was a prison guard, our world-views were virtually identical on many topics. We weren’t best buds, but we chatted now and then, loaned tools to each other as needed, and we each mowed the entire grassy area between our driveways. 20 feet wide by about 50 yards from the top of our driveways to the street. Beyond that to the rear of the properties is my fence around our pool.

One day, maybe 5 or 6 years ago, while raking leaves in the back, a policeman came through my back garden gate and approached me. He had come to solve a neighbor dispute of some kind. Turns out CC had called them to complain that I (and my kids) were trespassing on his land, and he wanted it stopped. What? I told the officer I had no idea what CC was talking about, and let’s go talk to him.

When we went over, CC was standing in his driveway, and was clearly about to explode.
As soon as I asked what’s going on, he blew. “You know damn good and well. You ride that motorcycle across here, your kids play over here, you’ve always got your telescope over here and I’m goddammed tired of it.” He went on for another minute, before I was allowed to speak.

Motorcycles? That’s the white trash from the farm behind us. I have no reason to ride a street bike in his back yard, and never have.

Kids? Don’t be silly. I can’t get them to play in their own yard. They’re city mice, not country mice. They hate being out in the yard, unless they’re in the pool. Supervised.

Telescopes? You mean in 1995, when Hale-Bopp was in the northern sky? And I asked you if we could use your back yard? For a week? In 1995? And you said “sure, no problem.”?

Fun fact: CC doesn’t live next door. Sure, he owns it, but he lives with his GF 30 miles away. Comes to get mail and check the house for about 6 minutes once a week or so.
I could live in his boat in the carport and he would never know.

CC kept sputtering and was clearly mentally unbalanced, so I chatted with the cop. He said “I have to give you a criminal trespass warning, and if you ever go on his property again, you will be arrested.”

I was stunned. This makes as much sense as putting mayonnaise on french fries. But, I said “Fine, whatever. But what about mowing the grass here between the driveway?” CC butts in and says “Oh, you can still mow the whole strip.”

Like fuck I will.

So for 3 or 4 days, I’m talking to my wife trying to figure out what the hell has happened here. We’ve never had a cross word. We’ve always helped each other. We both despise Democrats

We settled on it being a medication problem, combined with Alzheimer’s or something similar.

So now, here’s the weird part.

About the 4th day on, I’m leaving the house, and CC is mowing the front yard. As I drive past, I glance at him, and he gives me a big wave, like nothing has happened. Like he didn’t try to have me arrested. Like he didn’t want to cut my throat. Just being neighborly.

This is very typical of early onset of Alzheimers. Especially the nice reaction a few days later. Basically, he had completely forgotten about it, even just a few hours later. You’re lucky he was being nice later – sometimes they get themself upset again, and come over to yell at you again a few hours later, with no apparent memory that they already did that once today.