# Fuck off, neighborhood busybody **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 31, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974 "2013-07-31T04:50:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/61 "2013-08-04T02:37:26Z")
I used to have a crazy neighbor lady who complained at the slightest thing and tried to get the teenagers arrested when they ran over MY fence. She was an endless source of amusement to me because she was living in a rural area and seemed to expect that everyone else on the block would live up to her city life standards. When her daughter asked the police to check on her, I was the one who told them that she wasn’t acting normally (I think she had had a stroke), and I was the one who took care of her house and mail until she died. I was actually posting in a thread here about her when I got the call from her daughter that she had died. Its been years, and I still feel like a jerk about that. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t rant about NBs, but just warning you all that you might end up feeling like a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/62 "2013-08-04T10:26:43Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > The fact this biddie opened her pie hole and had to say ANYTHING to my landscaper means she’s been talking behind my back to complete strangers in the neighborhood. And now you’re talking about her behind her back. It’s normal. Everyone does it. She could have said nothing, and she could just be grateful you got the problem taken care of. But she’d be equally within her rights to make a comment alluding to the fact that it should have already been taken care of. Comparing what you’ve said in this thread to what she said to your landscaper, she has a lot more reason to be offended. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/63 "2013-08-04T18:41:24Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > You seem to know a lot about how a homeowner should conduct themselves so I assume you are a homeowner? I don’t think you need to be a homeowner to know that you should keep the sidewalk in front of your house clear. “Oh, but I had to wait to call a landscaper!” Please, you’re so busy you can’t even pick up a phone and call someone? Sorry, if you’re impeding other people like that, she has every fucking right to complain, dude. If you let it get that bad you couldn’t even do it yourself, to the point that people wanted to call the city – yeah, I don’t think you have much room to bitch about a fairly mild comment she made. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/64 "2013-08-04T23:06:11Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > It seems a bit over the top to call the landlord _negligent_ over dandelions. There are people (including me) who actually _like_ dandelions. I think they’re pretty (even the leaves) and more importantly, they’re an important food source for honeybees after winter. > > I like dandelions and creeping charley and wild violets and clover and queen Anne’s lace and so on. I know that goes against general American (and Canadian :)) attitudes about lawns, but oh well. Yard things that actually impact others are not the same as > differences of aesthetic preferences. I’m with **clairobscur**. Absolutely this. I like them and encourage them by always blowing the puff balls. What’s not to like? Pretty flowers, low growing, you can eat them… ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/65 "2013-08-05T23:30:14Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > And now you’re talking about her behind her back. It’s normal. Everyone does it. She could have said nothing, and she could just be grateful you got the problem taken care of. But she’d be equally within her rights to make a comment alluding to the fact that it should have already been taken care of. > > Comparing what you’ve said in this thread to what she said to your landscaper, she has a lot more reason to be offended. The difference here is Im talking behind her back anonymously on some Message Board. I have not revealed who this woman is or where she lives, meanwhile she is saying things behind my back and everyone knows who she is talking about. Theres a tremendous difference so how can she be more offended if she doesn’t even know Im talking about her and no one here knows who I am talking about. She is psychic, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/66 "2013-08-05T23:40:00Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I don’t think you need to be a homeowner to know that you should keep the sidewalk in front of your house clear. “Oh, but I had to wait to call a landscaper!” Please, you’re so busy you can’t even pick up a phone and call someone? Sorry, if you’re impeding other people like that, she has every fucking right to complain, dude. If you let it get that bad you couldn’t even do it yourself, to the point that people wanted to call the city – yeah, I don’t think you have much room to bitch about a fairly mild comment she made. Oh I am sorry I must be confused, I believe my question was directed at another poster. But OK as her representative, Ill respond to your quote. It wasn’t that I was too busy to call a landscaper—it was we hadn’t saved enough money to call a landscaper and in the meantime worked as hard as we could to maintain the upkeep ourselves, fairly well, may I add. So it wasn’t “too busy” to make a phone call, it was fitting it into our budget. But, if theres landscapers out there who do work for free, then yes, I guess I was lazy. Please let me know where I can find one in the future. As for asking whether your fellow poster is a homeowner or not, SHE is the one blasting me saying the woman was smarter than I am because she bought a property she could afford to keep up. If that poster is a renter and never owned her own house, who is she, or anyone else for that matter come to think of it, to judge me? I’ll buy whatever house my income level allows me to that I please, thank you very much, and if anyone here doesn’t like it, fuck them. Oh, and someone else posted about all these “yuppies” who buy their first house then don’t take care of it. Well, again, they don’t know me, because Im not a “yuppie” (what is this, the 80s???) and its actually my SECOND house, I used to work in real estate, so I would say my expertise on who can and cannot buy such and such a house is probably in the top percentile on this Board. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/67 "2013-08-05T23:42:11Z")
She isn’t saying anything that other people haven’t already thought to themselves. You only have evidence that she talked to one person. Your landscaper. The one person who has a vested interest in shaming you about your lawn maintenance. You don’t know exactly what she said or how she said it. She might have mentioned the sidewalk in a laughing/joking manner, for all you know. Why are you getting worked up without even knowing what went down? Instead of fuming over the “biddie”, why don’t you mosey over to her house and apologize? Even if you don’t think you need to apologize, you’ll have the high ground and that always feels good. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/68 "2013-08-06T00:00:26Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Let me ask you a question, toots. How long does it take to call a landscaper and send them a check? I don’t quite get what I am refuting or what your stupid point is. It takes me a day to call my landscaper. He’s here the next day and I pay him then. That’s my point-- you absolutely had time to deal with this, and chose not to. Which, whatever. We all have priorities. But you fucked up. Just own it. It makes you look like less of a tool. > [@](#): > > The fact this biddie opened her pie hole and had to say ANYTHING to my landscaper means she’s been talking behind my back to complete strangers in the neighborhood. You don’t know that, and moreover, who cares?? Grow up. You’re behaving like a child. [/quote] That’s MISTER Asshole to you, Miss. Respect your elders. [/quote] Um, no. From the way you’re behaving I’m going to be generous and assume you are not my elder. Even if you were, I do not respect you. > [@](#): > > No no no I said her property was OK just not so eyepoppingly beautiful she has any place to criticize her neighbors. She didn’t criticize you, she joked with you landscaper. You are the asshole in this situation. > [@](#): > > You seem to know a lot about how a homeowner should conduct themselves so I assume you are a homeowner? Yep. I currently own four, thanks to a few deaths in my family. I’m also a landlord. Thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/69 "2013-08-06T00:06:25Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Oh I am sorry I must be confused, I believe my question was directed at another poster. But OK as her representative, Ill respond to your quote. It wasn’t that I was too busy to call a landscaper—it was we hadn’t saved enough money to call a landscaper and in the meantime worked as hard as we could to maintain the upkeep ourselves, fairly well, may I add. So it wasn’t “too busy” to make a phone call, it was fitting it into our budget. But, if theres landscapers out there who do work for free, then yes, I guess I was lazy. Please let me know where I can find one in the future. > > As for asking whether your fellow poster is a homeowner or not, SHE is the one blasting me saying the woman was smarter than I am because she bought a property she could afford to keep up. If that poster is a renter and never owned her own house, who is she, or anyone else for that matter come to think of it, to judge me? I’ll buy whatever house my income level allows me to that I please, thank you very much, and if anyone here doesn’t like it, fuck them. > > Oh, and someone else posted about all these “yuppies” who buy their first house then don’t take care of it. Well, again, they don’t know me, because Im not a “yuppie” (what is this, the 80s???) and its actually my SECOND house, I used to work in real estate, so I would say my expertise on who can and cannot buy such and such a house is probably in the top percentile on this Board. Thank you. Haha I posted before I read this. God, I bet you feel like as big a dipshit as you are. And dude, cleaning ivy off a sidewalk well enough so people can walk is a couple hour’s worth of work. I do not for one second believe you couldn’t pay for the landscaper AND you didn’t have a couple hours for this. It might have looked janky, but you could have done it. Which, again, I get putting things off. I do it. Everyone does it. JUST OWN IT You fucked up and she called you on it. Instead of feeling contrite, you got mad because she made you feel guilty. Now you’re mad at the posters on here for the same reason. You aren’t a scum-sucking piece of shit because you neglected the sidewalk. But you kind of come across as one when you act like this. Think about it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/70 "2013-08-06T00:16:31Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > In the US we are definitely spoiled for choice when it comes to buying and selling real estate. Enough so where the conditions of a neighbor’s exterior can have a direct fiduciary effect on one’s own home. OK. So, if I agree to have a perfectly maintained lawn, how much do I get when you sell your house at a premium, and how often will you come over to mow it? If the answers are zero and never, I’m affraid you still won’t have a say in what I do with my yard. > [@zweisamkeit](#): > > It seems a bit over the top to call the landlord _negligent_ over dandelions. There are people (including me) who actually _like_ dandelions. I think they’re pretty (even the leaves) and more importantly, they’re an important food source for honeybees after winter. > > I like dandelions and creeping charley and wild violets and clover and queen Anne’s lace and so on. I know that goes against general American (and Canadian :)) attitudes about lawns, but oh well. . > [@Bozuit](#): > > Agreed. I like longer grass, wild flowers and the like. I’m happy to know I have all kind of creatures taking advantage of it all. What’s the point of a sterile, bland lawn? I might get some satisfaction out of the tidiness, but no real _happiness_. I had to look up what dandelion was, and I’ve indeed no issue with it (besides, dandelion is edible, you can make salads with it). And I do like wild flowers and taller grass too. In fact, part of my outrage comes from the idea that owners of those boring and bland lawns would want my yard to be as boring and bland as theirs. I never got the appeal of well mowed lawns. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/71 "2013-08-06T01:23:26Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > OK. So, if I agree to have a perfectly maintained lawn, how much do I get when you sell your house at a premium, and how often will you come over to mow it? If the answers are zero and never, I’m affraid you still won’t have a say in what I do with my yard. This. If you wish my lawn to be in a certain state at a benefit to you, then pay me. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/72 "2013-08-06T01:51:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This. If you wish my lawn to be in a certain state at a benefit to you, then pay me. One benefit is your neighbor’s higher sale price becomes a comparable sale (comp) when you go to sell your house or try to refi a mortgage. Your asking price can be higher because of higher neighborhood comps. If everyone keeps their property up to some reaonable minimum standard then everyone benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/73 "2013-08-06T04:53:35Z")
A lot of people want to live in nice neighbourhoods. They want to live in nice neighbourhoods because they feel safer and they feel that their kids are safer, and nice neighbourhoods are, well, nice. In my part of the world, a nice neighbourhood includes yards that are kept, well, nicely. Some people, however, want to be Free Riders in nice neighbourhoods. They want to reap the benefits of everyone _else_ making the efforts it takes to keep a neighbourhood nice, without putting in any of the work themselves. I have a problem with these people, and rental units have owners who frequently are these people. The rental unit owners probably live in nice neighbourhoods themselves, so they don’t care that the rental units that they aren’t keeping up to nice neighbourhood standards are making everyone else’s nice neighbourhood just that much less nice. No one forces anyone to move to a nice neighbourhood here; if you don’t want to spend every summer Saturday mowing a lawn and spend a little time and effort to do some weed control on your yard and you don’t want to shovel a sidewalk, there are tons of townhouses, condos, and apartments to choose from where you will be required to do none of those things. If you choose to move to a neighbourhood where there will be written and un-written expectations of you as a homeowner, I think people should suck it up and do what is expected of you. [A brochure on the written expectations.](http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/ABS/Documents/Bylaws-by-topic/Yard%20perimeter%20maintenance.pdf) I’m not just making this shit up to be a douchebag, trying to tell everyone else what they have to do with their yards; if you want to own property in Calgary, there are definite expectations on all the homeowners, and that includes the people who own homes but don’t live in them. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/74 "2013-08-06T05:45:12Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > It takes me a day to call my landscaper. He’s here the next day and I pay him then. That’s my point-- you absolutely had time to deal with this, and chose not to. Which, whatever. We all have priorities. But you fucked up. Just own it. It makes you look like less of a tool. Well then Im not a tool since Ive already said I take responsibility. Now there obviously a reading comprehension issue on this Forum because you are about the third or fourth individual who doesn’t seem to grasp my not calling the landscaper was a money, not a time issue, at this point I can only explain it, I can’t make you understand it. > [@](#): > > You don’t know that, and moreover, who cares?? Grow up. You’re behaving like a child. So says the poster that called me an “asshole”. > [@](#): > > That’s MISTER Asshole to you, Miss. Respect your elders. Um, no. From the way you’re behaving I’m going to be generous and assume you are not my elder. Even if you were, I do not respect you. [/quote] Oh please no, not that. By the nature of your posts, I imagine you respect little. You seem very angry, and confrontational. Sad way to go through life. > [@](#): > > She didn’t criticize you, she joked with you landscaper. You are the asshole in this situation. Yes, she did criticize me, and Im not laughing > [@](#): > > Yep. I currently own four, thanks to a few deaths in my family. I’m also a landlord. Thanks for asking. I’m very sorry for the losses in your family, and congratulations on your inheritances. Just to let you know, no one handed me my houses. I had to work for them, and continue to work 50+ hour weeks to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. So excuse me when I get my panties in a bunch when someone criticizes how I take care of my house. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/75 "2013-08-06T06:05:49Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > Haha I posted before I read this. God, I bet you feel like as big a dipshit as you are. There’s only one dipshit here, Sweetie and its you who called me an “asshole” because you are too much of a “dipshit” to conjur up an intelligent adjective. > [@](#): > > And dude, cleaning ivy off a sidewalk well enough so people can walk is a couple hour’s worth of work. I do not for one second believe you couldn’t pay for the landscaper AND you didn’t have a couple hours for this. It might have looked janky, but you could have done it. Which, again, I get putting things off. I do it. Everyone does it. JUST OWN IT Couple hours of work? AWESOME. Please forward me your information, I will pay you $5000 if you can clear an equal amount ivy off a sidewalk in 2 hours. This is Boston ivy, not some backyard crabgrass. I suggest you research the plant before shooting your mouth off. > [@](#): > > You fucked up and she called you on it. Instead of feeling contrite, you got mad because she made you feel guilty. Now you’re mad at the posters on here for the same reason. You aren’t a scum-sucking piece of shit because you neglected the sidewalk. Theres a compliment in there somewhere hahahaha Im not mad at anybody, I mean come on its a friggin message board who cares. I am willing to have a reasonable discussion about the issue with other posters here. But when they attack me and start calling me names, as you did I can throw haymakers with the best of them, trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/76 "2013-08-06T08:39:18Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > You know, it sounds to me like your landscaper likes to stir up shit. You’ve got a full blown hate-on for one particular woman because she might be the one that said something like what someone else told you. > > And yeah, keeping your sidewalk clear is a bigger deal than having an attractive lawn. I push a stroller a great deal, and a blocked sidewalk is a tremendous pain in the ass. Why not attach an edger to the sides of the stroller and then you can offer landscaping services WHILE pushing the baby around? One could build up a nice side business ! 😃 O.P.er: You have a legal responsibility to keep your walks clear and safe. Stop whining. The snide remark about foster children was reprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/77 "2013-08-06T10:34:01Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Couple hours of work? AWESOME. Please forward me your information, I will pay you $5000 if you can clear an equal amount ivy off a sidewalk in 2 hours. This is Boston ivy, not some backyard crabgrass. I suggest you research the plant before shooting your mouth off. [Care for Boston Ivy:](http://landscaping.about.com/od/vineplants1/p/boston_ivy.htm) “Boston ivy plants are vigorous growers. Prune the vines once per year, so as to check the rapid growth.” Prune the vines once per year the vines once per year once per year once What am I missing here? Maybe this?[The plant secretes calcium carbonate,[2] which serves as an adhesive pad and gives it the ability to attach itself to a wall without requiring any additional support. While it does not penetrate the building surface but merely attaches to it, nevertheless damage can occur from attempting to rip the plant from the wall. However, if the plant is killed first, such as by severing the vine from the root, the adhesive pads will eventually deteriorate to the point where the plant can be easily removed without causing any damage to the wall.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_tricuspidata) However, if the plant is killed first, such as by severing the vine from the root, the adhesive pads will eventually deteriorate to the point where the plant can be easily removed without causing any damage to the wall the plant can be easily removed without causing any damage to the wall the plant can be easily removed easily Ah, that’s the hard part… ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/78 "2013-08-06T21:25:46Z")
Must be something wrong with my iPad, it keeps zooming in and out by itself. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/79 "2013-08-06T21:49:56Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Now there obviously a reading comprehension issue on this Forum because you are about the third or fourth individual who doesn’t seem to grasp my not calling the landscaper was a money, not a time issue, I missed where you reconciled that with “we can easily afford to move to much nicer neighborhood than this one”. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974/80 "2013-08-06T23:59:04Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Couple hours of work? AWESOME. Please forward me your information, I will pay you $5000 if you can clear an equal amount ivy off a sidewalk in 2 hours. This is Boston ivy, not some backyard crabgrass. I suggest you research the plant before shooting your mouth off. If you let it get so out of control that it would take more than 2 hours to clear, then your ass needed to be chewed out by someone. That means it wasn’t just a minor inconvenience for your neighbors, but a real nuisance. You are lucky you weren’t fined. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-off-neighborhood-busybody/664974.md?page=3)