Public Nuisance

[Steeveedee]

Do you have any friends who can call in an airstrike?

I had a neighbor at my last house who was just plain crazy. Caught him painting a model ship on my parkway not long after I moved in. He claimed to be a model builder for the studios. Turning on the lawn sprinklers got rid of him, right quick. He had his own front yard to paint in. The amount of stuff vandalized around our place in those days... didn't know who, but did know, kind of thing. Just couldn't prove it. I considered putting up cameras, but never did. When we moved to this place, I ended up putting up cameras. We have a neighbor who is also cray-cray. Putting up cameras helped stop the vandalism.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Do you have any friends who can call in an airstrike?

I had a neighbor at my last house who was just plain crazy. Caught him painting a model ship on my parkway not long after I moved in. He claimed to be a model builder for the studios. Turning on the lawn sprinklers got rid of him, right quick. He had his own front yard to paint in. The amount of stuff vandalized around our place in those days... didn't know who, but did know, kind of thing. Just couldn't prove it. I considered putting up cameras, but never did. When we moved to this place, I ended up putting up cameras. We have a neighbor who is also cray-cray. Putting up cameras helped stop the vandalism.

I put in dummy cameras and hid the real ones. Pretty sneaky. I think that I'm a pretty easy going guy. I don't look for a fight. I avoid them. But apparently it doesn't go both ways. This guy was all over me from day one and I have no clue as to why.

But if he wants to go at it I will not run. I will stand my ground. He is trying to intimidate me and I'm not going to go there. He picked the wrong guy to mess with. I'm not a tough guy but I will not put up with that. He needs to learn that. And he will because I'm not going anywhere.

Unless my ex wife shows up.... Then I'm outta here!

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Strong fences make good neighbors. Maybe have the installers paint his side a nice, restful color. Flames are a restful look, like looking at the firepit on a cold night.

The painting contractor for a builder I contracted with built a garage, with permit, at his house out back. The neighbor complained the footers were too close to his property line and they were. So, Leon had to shift the footers 2', as if that would make a big difference in how the back wall of his garage would look to this neighbor. Leon was angry over this, so once it was time to paint the garage he had a party where everyone painted eyes all over that whole wall... a wall of eyeballs staring back at the neighbor. Here's looking at you!

[Steeveedee]

^

[joedoh]

my neighbor behind me got a big flood light and while it only lit up about 30 ft of his yard, the glare of the bulb was distracting in my living room. i went over and mentioned it and we found an angle that still let him see in his backyard but did not glare the bare bulb in my house. here we have an ordinance on height and angle of floodlights but i wasnt ready to take it to that stage. you might see if the notice you got references a statute or ordinance.

it sounds as if you are both spoiling for a fight and before you escalate it maybe just ask him whats wrong.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by special-K

The painting contractor for a builder I contracted with built a garage, with permit, at his house out back. The neighbor complained the footers were too close to his property line and they were. So, Leon had to shift the footers 2', as if that would make a big difference in how the back wall of his garage would look to this neighbor. Leon was angry over this, so once it was time to paint the garage he had a party where everyone painted eyes all over that whole wall... a wall of eyeballs staring back at the neighbor. Here's looking at you!

You know how those Leon's are. Better put on your bullet proof vest and cast iron underwear.... ...

LockDoc

[special-K]

Yeah, he was a great guy, too!

Actually, he was a painter for one builder when I met him but he became a superintendent for a builder I ended up contracting with later. He moved from there and the eyes don't have it anymore

[Micmac]

My neighbor sometime comes across the inlet from Canada on his whatever you call those surfboards with paddles and says hi to us in the summertime while we are sitting on our deck. He is the only neighbor we can see and he's about a mile away in another country. I have a lighthouse on the right of me, and a state park on the left of me. I have spotlights all around the shop. The eagles and bears don't seem to mind. I've been known to work in my shop until 2 AM with the likes of Lynerd Skinnard, Black Sabbath, The Doors, Hank Williams Sr. and Patsy Cline blaring at full blast from the stereo. I can assure you my life was not always so uncomplicated. I have had several neighbors such as Brother Fleetside has described. I've had the HOA Circle Jerk, the neighbor worried about my soul that poisoned one of the best dogs I ever had, the one that borrowed my lawnmower, then when I asked for it back, looked me in the eye and said I gave it to him. It was a self propelled mower I had just paid $400 for, He said, "Besides you have that Kubota tractor, you don't need this".
I walked inside, told my wife to call the realtor, put the house on the market and we moved up here to our home in Maine. No regrets, I do miss my Blue Ridge but visit kids and grandkids often. I did get mower back. I'm too old to put up with that crap.

[special-K]

I moved in to this place not knowing it was surrounded by a clan, all one family. The folks' place and their kids' two houses about my age. It became apparent they were upset they didn't get to buy the house so they didn't like me. I heard the old woman who lived here forever, long before them, made it clear she would never sell to them. It wasn't actually listed when I found it, so... I got it

I basically killed them with kindness. More like stood my ground graciously when they tried pushing their weight on me. I made it clear I didn't take any crap, but always defaulted back to "let's be good neighbors" while they grumbled on in their own self-misery. I'd do favors when needed, never anything in return. Fine, I like it that way. One by one they have died off. The wife next door (married-in) had to move out after her husband died last year. She was always nice and it's too bad she couldn't have stayed. Now it's just the one daughter directly behind me, and it's more like she's living with her daughter, the husband, and four kids. I'm like a pappy to the kids (since theirs has died) and get along just fine with the daughter and husband. The mom is still the generally unfriendly/unneighborly person she was raised to be, but it doesn't matter.

I rode it out all these years and now the problem has passed. It was best when the old man was still alive. He liked to push his weight around like a big wheel. They called him the mayor of Buffalo Rd. But his ways didn't work on me. I would matter of factly and calmly disagree with him and he gained respect. It was after he passed that my contemporaries, who had lived under his wing, got worse. It hit the fan in '07, me against all them, which ended up with me in zoning hearings. I worked through that and let it ride. No need to start a war. I always tried to be the better man and I think it worked

[jjzepplin]

I could tell some BAD neighbor stories, but I have a good one. Long story short, I was battling with this guy whos "secretary" was a call girl (no kidding) and he was running a pond business from the apartment next door. Any way, after the whole face to face altercation, I told him I was not wrong but sorry that it had to come to this and apologized. He ended up buying me a $750 Tom Woods driveshaft to finish my truck. He never made another peep and it seemed to just be a thick skull sort of thing. We had lunch a couple more times and then he moved.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by joedoh

my neighbor behind me got a big flood light and while it only lit up about 30 ft of his yard, the glare of the bulb was distracting in my living room. i went over and mentioned it and we found an angle that still let him see in his backyard but did not glare the bare bulb in my house. here we have an ordinance on height and angle of floodlights but i wasnt ready to take it to that stage. you might see if the notice you got references a statute or ordinance.

it sounds as if you are both spoiling for a fight and before you escalate it maybe just ask him whats wrong.

I've looked up the ordinance and I am in complete compliance. My light doesn't even shine in his yard let alone his house. I know that I wouldn't want a flood light shining in my face either so I understand that. But that isn't the case. I was very mindful of that when I installed it.

I don't want to fight with this guy. I don't want to fight with anyone. I'm a lover not a fighter. Although I've been told that I'm not very good at either one.

I would love to talk this down and de escalate it. But he won't talk to me. He goes inside the minute he sees me.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I've looked up the ordinance and I am in complete compliance. My light doesn't even shine in his yard let alone his house. I know that I wouldn't want a flood light shining in my face either so I understand that. But that isn't the case. I was very mindful of that when I installed it.

I don't want to fight with this guy. I don't want to fight with anyone. I'm a lover not a fighter. Although I've been told that I'm not very good at either one.

I would love to talk this down and de escalate it. But he won't talk to me. He goes inside the minute he sees me.

Paint your face on the side of the fence that will be facing him. He'll stay inside all the time!

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Paint your face on the side of the fence that will be facing him. He'll stay inside all the time!

My face? Now that would really be a public nuisance. Because it aint pretty.

[67C10Step]

Robert Frost said it best, Good fences make good neighbors.

I've had a bad neighbor before but have super ones now. I was working on the fence around my pool yesterday and two of my neighbors came over and helped me put it back together. Also have a tractor borrowed from one of them right now as well.

I feel for you as I know what it's like to try to deal with a crazy person that refuses to even talk to you.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

Robert Frost said it best, Good fences make good neighbors.

you know why robert was so concerned with keeping his apples from the neighbors pines?

so they didnt end up with pineapples.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

I've had a bad neighbor before but have super ones now.

I've had good and bad. At my old house my neighbor on one side was the best. Just a great guy. The one on the other side.... Eh... Not so much. He wasn't crazy though, just a blabber mouth that knew everything and always wanted to give me advice that I never asked for. You know the type.

I would look out the window before I got my mail just so I wouldn't run into him. He was harmless but annoying. He just wouldn't shut up.

But he's not looking that bad now compared to this lunatic.

[joedoh]

sucks if you cant get through to the neighbors. even if you offer to help some people take offense. my old neighbor was nice to my face and called the city if i even left the side gate open. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


well as kismet, i was just working with the garage door open and the speakers on 11 and someone called the law. now i thought I had a pretty good relationship with all the neighbors but my bluetooth speakers are serious units. less rocking more working.

[68bowtie]

My neighbor is not sure he likes that I have chickens. We live in town. I am following all the rules. But he seems a bit bothered about it. So I gave him some eggs. Which he loved. Maybe some kind of nice gesture would break through…

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

My neighbor is not sure he likes that I have chickens. We live in town. I am following all the rules. But he seems a bit bothered about it. So I gave him some eggs. Which he loved. Maybe some kind of nice gesture would break through…

We had chickens when I was a kid. Where we lived was not zoned for them. We gave the neighbors eggs and never heard one complaint. They were some good eggs.

I've tried to be nice. I drove my Jeep down to my barn and he was sitting on his porch. I waved just to kind of break the ice or something. I got nothing. He just went back inside. So much for that.

[special-K]

I'm glad my neighbors have chickens. It wouldn't be livin' in the country without hearing a rooster or two crow. The old man of 'the clan' when I moved in here was big into coon hunting. He had dogs and mules. then across the road people moved in and they got a mule. I miss the sound of those mules sounding off.

Except for directly behind me, I have all new neighbors the next two houses in both directions up the road. All younger of course. So far so good except the second house over away from town. I'm not sure about the situation in that house. Might be split between two households. I know Harry (old neighbor) had his daughter and son in law living there. Might have made an apartment. The guy over there now has '90s Chevy pickup with a 'performance' sounding muffler. He starts the truck up and lets it idle forever. The sound carries across to my bedroom. I don't think he works. He will run that thing out there any time of day. Sometimes he ends up going somewhere, other times shuts it off. I think he sits in it while it runs. sometimes he'll rev it up. I don't get it. He has started it at 5am, let run till 8am, then shut it off. It's a low pitched drone kind of sound that has an inconsistent lope that makes it hard to ignore.

[67C10Step]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I've had good and bad. At my old house my neighbor on one side was the best. Just a great guy. The one on the other side.... Eh... Not so much. He wasn't crazy though, just a blabber mouth that knew everything and always wanted to give me advice that I never asked for. You know the type.

I would look out the window before I got my mail just so I wouldn't run into him. He was harmless but annoying. He just wouldn't shut up.

But he's not looking that bad now compared to this lunatic.

My old 'bad' neighbor got her karma. The guy I sold my old house to turned out to be about 3x as crazy as her. Burnouts in the driveway, junk everywhere, and was known to sit in the back yard with a bottle of whiskey and a shotgun. Sadly, he killed himself eventually.

We have at least one know it all in our neighborhood but he lives on the far end so I don't have to deal with him. We have a facebook page for the neighborhood and I guess his know it all daughter was staying with them and was complaining about people cutting trees and shooting guns. Neither are illegal where we live and I was one of the biggest offenders of both. The trees I removed had no redeeming value and I was opening things up so the mast crop trees (oaks, black tupelo, etc.) would have more room to grow. The shooting? Well, it's not illegal and nobody has asked us to stop.

As far as music goes, when I listen to Thin Lizzy or Stevie Ray Vaughn the neighbors do as well. One liked it so much they threw a rock through my shop window to hear better. OK, that was not true. My shop has no windows.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

My old 'bad' neighbor got her karma. The guy I sold my old house to turned out to be about 3x as crazy as her. Burnouts in the driveway, junk everywhere, and was known to sit in the back yard with a bottle of whiskey and a shotgun. Sadly, he killed himself eventually.

We have at least one know it all in our neighborhood but he lives on the far end so I don't have to deal with him. We have a facebook page for the neighborhood and I guess his know it all daughter was staying with them and was complaining about people cutting trees and shooting guns. Neither are illegal where we live and I was one of the biggest offenders of both. The trees I removed had no redeeming value and I was opening things up so the mast crop trees (oaks, black tupelo, etc.) would have more room to grow. The shooting? Well, it's not illegal and nobody has asked us to stop.

As far as music goes, when I listen to Thin Lizzy or Stevie Ray Vaughn the neighbors do as well. One liked it so much they threw a rock through my shop window to hear better. OK, that was not true. My shop has no windows.

Not anymore, it doesn't!

[Liz]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I'm a public nuisance. I just got a letter from the county saying so. So it must be true.

Why is this news? We knew you were back in the IIOY days

[old Rusty C10]

I had a neighbor who whined to code enforcement because i had a diesel truck that was too loud ( stock exhaust before emissions) and all kinds of other stuff tried to say i was running a chop shop because i had my projects that would come and gho and friends came over and we would work on their cars..went to court with it once and it was thrown out.. the next time code enforcement came i decided to get even.. hey had a decent number of feral cats there i went and turned em in for that and beastiality.. the town had to investigate.. Ihad no further problems since until ive moved... some people arent happy unless they are unhappy

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Liz

Why is this news? We knew you were back in the IIOY days

Ouch!!!

My buddy's have all been busting my chops about being a nuisance too. It's all in good fun.

I think?