INCONSIDERATE PEOPLE

Lousy Neighbors

Some people are inconsiderate S.O.Bs. They have little or no concern for how their selfish actions affect the lives of others. They act as though they are the only ones in the world and they can do just about anything they want. I admit some of what I am about to divulge has less impact on some than it does on others, but they all irritate me, i.e., the people and the things they do.

Why does this bother me so? Maybe it’s my up-bring within a large family, my twenty years serving in the military and my thirty years of serving clients in my various businesses. Or maybe, it’s just because I’m a fuddy-duddy old far_, ah man. All these situations bring about an awareness of and consideration for others, i.e., one must think about his actions and how they may affect those around him or all may suffer.

People and their lawn trimmings

Let’s start off with a somewhat minor irritant. Minor in that it may only affect one or two people, i.e., me and the person who owns the empty lot near the culprit in question. My first encounter with this encroachment is when I bought a four acre weed infested piece of land with a small home in dire need of repairs on it. It was in the country where most homes had lots of land surrounding them. Unfortunately this house was directly across the road from my nearest neighbor, but it was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

They were nice enough people, I guess. They never bothered me the eighteen years I lived there. Fortunately, there was a huge water oak growing in my front yard that blocked my view of my new neighbors.

The guy had a beautiful twenty acre piece of property, which right off made me jealous. It had a large neatly kept yard, and horses grazed in gently rolling pastures that surrounded a pristine two acre lake. He kept his large yard, dotted with azaleas, dogwoods, and Bradford Pare trees lining both sides of his drive, cut and neatly trimmed. This is where the irritating problem came in. All the trimmings from the past few years lay in the ditch in front of my newly acquired plot. Of course when he dumped them there the place was empty, yet I was the one who had to clean them up and cart them off. It made me wonder what he did with his trimmings before. I knew where I would have liked to put them.

I notice this happens in many subdivisions that have undeveloped lots, usually lots that haven’t been cleared of trees and underbrush yet, like the subdivision I now live in, or ones backed up with vacant land behind them. These people must have the idea that because the lot or land is empty, it belongs to no one and therefore it’s okay to dump their yard clippings on it. I’ve noticed these piles and heaps on my daily walks and it matters little the class of the neighborhood. If there is a vacant lot close by an inconsiderate home owner, one that keeps up his property himself, i.e., he doesn’t have a professional yardman. I’d like to give these inconsiderate, lazy slobs a piece of my mind. It makes me want to rub their noses in the pile of rubbish and scream “bad boy”. But no, I bite my lip and keep on walking.

Blocking the right of way

Then there are the clowns who put their kid’s freestanding basketball hoops, smack on the very edge of the road making it hazardous when two cars meet in that area. It makes me wonder, do these things come with instructions that state this is where to place the irritating contraptions? One has to slow down and ease around it and even stop and wait for the kid to take one more shot before he saunters to the side giving you a sarcastic look. These offenders have nice large driveways perfect for a basket ball court, yet they choose to put their child in the street. Maybe they have ulterior motives for doing this.

These same offenders usually place their garbage cans slap in the street or right on the edge of it, creating the same problem as the freestanding basketball pole with its hoop hanging out over the street so a driver has to swerve to the other side of the road to miss it, and if traffic is coming, one has to stop. It’s a real pain in the, you know what.

Once, quite by accident, one of these flapping nets snagged on the rack of my pickup. I kept going as the sports device topple over and lay prone beside the road. I felt a little guilty as a feeling of contentment filled me. Two months later the felled hoop still lay there like a fallen warrior well clear of traffic. The kid uses it fifteen minutes every other month while it hinders traffic twenty-four seven.  In contrast, another neighbor has their freestanding hoop properly set up in their driveway. Coincidentally, this family has seven well behaved children.

Blocking the right away is a big problem. People with not enough parking spaces for their fleet of vehicles are the worst offenders. There are only three homes in my fifty-five home subdivision that shelters cars. Even police officers, who are allowed to bring their cruisers home, are offenders of this. There are four officers on my walking route and all are guilty. Three of them live in cul de sacs and park on the street making it impossible for anyone to do what a cul de sac is designed for, i.e., turn around without having to back into someone’s driveway. Others park half on or completely on the street. One guy left his travel trailer parked on the street for over a month before he or someone else backed into his driveway. Considerate neighbors park in their yard when their driveway overflows, believe me there are more than a few, rather than hinder others’ right-of-way.

A neighbor down the way has four pickups, two cars, two boats, a travel trailer and a utility trailer. None of them block any part of the street. His place looks like a used car sales lot but then it’s his property.

Things thrown into your yard

Free circulers, monthly and weekly sale and coupon fliers, and let’s not forget the tons of telephone books, all tossed onto our yards and drive ways. What’s the matter with these goofballs? First off, I resent the hell out of this and if I wanted a paper, I’d go buy one, I don’t use coupons and who uses a phone directory anymore? Second, I have to interrupt my program because the wife is screaming for me to pick up the dumb things and throw them in the trash that needs emptying. She must be obeyed at all cost, so I trudge out into the blistering sun or freezing or damp weather to pick up soggy items, place them into an overflowing trash can and drag it all to the street, next to the street that is. Isn’t there a law against littering, or is that only on the beach? By the way, have you ever seen so many DON’T signs as there are on the beach. By the time you read them all, you’re sunburned and ready to head home.

Then, to top it off, your phone rings jerking you from an important scene of the movie you’re watching. “Did you receive you blank blank phone book?” a perky female voice asks. “Was it in your drive or in your yard?” and she goes on and on and so does your movie.

“Yeah,” I say hoping they noticed the disdain in my voice, “now it’s in my trash can.” I quietly hang up while they ask yet another question. Can you imagine the audacity of these clowns? They liter you yard with unwanted crap then, interrupt you with an annoying phone call. They should be jailed and administered the Chinese water treatment at least three times daily.

Other ringing phone and door knocking annoyances

And then, there are survey calls and calls claiming they are affiliated with your local police and every other Thom, Dick and Howard, all with their hand out seeking donations for some worthy cause. I have a standing policy, i.e., I donate nothing to anyone that hasn’t donated something to me first, and I keep away from all surveys because they irritate me. Once one starts donating and answering surveys, calls increase exponentially. My sister complains vehemently about these calls, and yet she answers them and sometimes does what they ask of her. I shake my head, because I cautioned her many times.

Strangers pounding on your door: salesmen selling everything from frozen meat to vacuum cleaners, girl scouts selling cookies, boy scouts just begging, bible thumpers threatening you to hell and damnation if you don’t convert to their beliefs and people with just their hands out looking for donations for one thing or another. I’ve been sucked in too many times. You cannot be nice to these people. They are thieves of your time. I am too old to waste time with inconsiderate jaw hackers.

They pay no attention to “No Soliciting” signs. I don’t care when they arrive, it’s an inopportune time. If it’s a kid I calmly explain my reason for not wanting whatever it is they are selling. As for adults, I generally have to get nasty and drive them off with threats to their life and limb. For those with their hands out, I try to slam the door on them, their hand, their nose or whatever else they have sticking out. Hey, a person is entitled to his privacy. I have no kindness for these yahoos.

A possible solution

Of course, one could buy a home in a subdivision with a Home Owners Association where enforcers prowl the neighborhood searching for offenders. I’d rather put up with the inconsiderate fools where I live.

Now that you know what an irritating person I am, I’ll say thanks and good-bye for now. I hope you received some enjoyment from this. I did in writing it. It’s oh so good getting things off your chest. Have a pleasant day. If this annoys you in any way, let me hear from you. I’ll give you something else to complain about, anything to get someone to make a comment.