Fun Monday Neighbors from Hades

Whew...now that NaBloPoMo is over, I'm actually glad to merely focus on Fun Monday for a while! Ari_1965 is this week's hostess, and she wants to know about our worst neighbors EVER.

Living in a small town, I figured this could get me in some trouble. I started thinking of all the bad neighbors I had in the past, and then realized they were bad neighbors only b/c they had such little tolerance for the late-night partying ways of a college student. Other neighbors that city ordinances define as 'bad' were the quietest, most non-obtrusive on the block.

I've only had one REALLY bad set of neighbors...though they didn't live quite next door. When I lived in the "old part" of town, my house was very close to the houses on both sides. Likewise, the houses across the street were close. One of these houses was obscured by overgrown bushes...it used to be a cute house, belonging to a local artist. When The Offspring was a toddler, the house became a rental. The occupants had NO restraint when it came to the use of expletives - LOUD expletives, shouted for the entire block to hear. Sometimes, their voices could be heard even with all the doors and windows shut.

As years wore on, activity at the house increased. A lot. Random folks would seem to appear on the sidewalk, and stumble away with hazy eyes. Young men would sidle up the alley behind our house, and magically find themselves across the street, at "that" house. Only to stay for a moment, before exiting, bleary-eyed. The traffic became so obvious, that it was only a matter of time before police vehicles frequented the domicile. We observed one occupant (female) submit to officers as she was led away in handcuffs, crying, pleading...to no avail. Most disturbing were the little children in and out of the house. I wondered what their existence must be like. I was sad for them.

In our old home, our master bedroom windows faced the street. One morning, in the wee hours, I awoke to flashing lights. Reds and blues, blinding almost...as I went to the window to see what was going on, I couldn't see anything. There was a haze in the air, with only red and blue flashes within the fog. Slowly, I came to realize that this time the flashes were NOT only from the police, but also from the large fire truck in the street. That 'haze' I was struggling to see thru was the smoke from a fire that had broken out upstairs at 'that house.' The smell that filled the air was horrific...I'm not sure what was going on at 'that house,' but I was assured that the fire was caused by something left on the stove unattended. I was glad the children escaped the home unharmed.

I don't miss living so close to my neighbors. Granted, I do miss some of the porch visits and talks with my "good" neighbors, but I like the serenity of the pastures I see, and my new neighbors - a pair of docile horses!

Now, go check out the other participants!