These are the people in your neighborhood…

I come back from choir last Thursday night and find Shopping Cart Man asleep on their front porch.

There used to be owner-occupied houses on both sides of our abode when we first moved in a dozen years ago. On one side, there still is – different people – though, he also rents out to a number of other people. On the other side, it’s three rental units, absentee landlord, with a relatively large turnover of mostly college students. This is especially frustrating to me because I’m really lousy with names. On either side, there are possibly more people than what the properties are zoned for, though I couldn’t prove it.

Anyway, we had some issues with one neighbor’s dog, specifically where one neighbor’s dog did her business. The front lawn over there now looks like the surface of Mars, where it once was absolutely beautiful, and we didn’t want ours to appear likewise. Words were spoken, mostly between my usually mild-mannered wife and them, and it created a bit of tension between the couples.

Then Shopping Cart Man started showing up. Some of the other neighbors in the building found him rather entertaining, as he’d park his chariot in their yard and start drumming for them on their sidewalk with sticks for 30 to 60 minutes at a time; really annoying to us, even inside our residence. Further, they’d save returnable cans and bottles for him, which naturally encouraged him to come back.

Things got more interesting when Dog Owner Man found Shopping Cart Man sleeping in his hallway a couple of weeks ago, in a stairwell that was supposed to be locked; apparently, one or more of the other neighbors let him in.

I come back from choir last Thursday night and find Shopping Cart Man asleep on their front porch. This was unacceptable to me, and after I put away my bicycle, I figured I’d call the non-emergency police number. Before I get a chance, a police car, fire truck, and an ambulance all arrive, with the EMTs trying, with a great deal of difficulty, to awaken Shopping Cart Man from his drunken stupor. He eventually staggers down the street. Dog Owner Man had already made the call.

So now Dog Owner Couple and we are united by this common issue; Shopping Cart Man ought not to loiter on their property, or ours, though he never has. It also helps that the dog has stopped barking at me every time I ride through our common walkway. I still often go inside when I see Dog Owner Couple, but that more because of their cigarette habits; it’s amazing what I can smell from 30 feet away…

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