Unforgettable...

When i first moved into this neighborhood 20 years ago, a few doors down was the 'bully of the street guy'. I have heard of him before moving here since i knew a couple a few doors from him. One day i was in living room and kept hearing something smacking my house and making an odd springing sound. I opened my front door and here is his son bouncing a football off my electrical drop, laughing the entire time. I stepped out onto the porch and asked the kid almost as politely as i could "What the hell are you doing? You knock my electric out, that could be a problem." I hear the father (bully) tell his kid to stop and come back over by their house. The snotty kid replies "I don't care, i don't know him". I told the kid, "Ok, well, let me tell ya...You knock my electric out you will know me pretty quick lol. I will walk down to your house and yank your meter off the wall and chuck it in the lake". Then i see mister bully step out to the road and put his hands on his hips and stare at me lol. I step out further so we are eye to eye and i said "You heard me. Tell your kid to move on." I never saw the kid near my house nor did mr bully ever say another word to me again lol.
 
Mowing the yard at 7am is small potatoes. I bought my first home in a small, middle class community in the early 80s. My one neighbor was a brash New Yorker, we seldom spoke but I got on famously with his wife and daughter. The guy ran an auto body shop a few miles away.

Early my second summer there, the owner of the auto body shop building sold the property, leaving my neighbor's business homeless. He decided he'd use his two car garage (next to my bedroom window) to continue his work until he could rent and set up another shop. This meant lots of banging and clanging, impact wrenches, and assorted other noises of the auto body world.

That summer was a particularly hot one, and soon he was working in the middle of the night because it was cooler. After a couple sleepless nights, I politely pointed out to him his work was keeping me awake. He not so politely responded he didn't give a damn about my sleep deprivation, telling me he had a business to run. He ended his tirade by inviting me to perform a sex act I'm pretty sure is impossible.


So over the next few days, I filed complaints with the police (noise and creating a public nuisance), the fire department (large volumes of flammable liquid/material in a residential property), the zoning commission (running a business in a residential zoned area), the Ohio EPA (dispensing VOCs into the open air since he was painting without a paint booth), the Ohio Secretary of State (violating his state business license), and the HOA (on general principle.) He became very popular with officialdom soon thereafter.

He wound up facing multiple fines and legal fees, lost his business, got divorced and they sold the house the following spring.
Duke, that was awesome. I have had run ins with people who were taking unfair advantage. One such encounter ended with a SWAT team visit. My neighbors were the lucky recipients of the visit.
 
Duke, that was awesome. I have had run ins with people who were taking unfair advantage. One such encounter ended with a SWAT team visit. My neighbors were the lucky recipients of the visit.
People always seem to take a mile when given an inch. I hate resorting to argument, but sometimes it is the only way to nip it quick.
 
People always seem to take a mile when given an inch. I hate resorting to argument, but sometimes it is the only way to nip it quick.
I don't get angry, I get even. :innocent: Seriously, I strive to get along with people, but if they cross a certain line, or seek harm to myself or my loved ones, I show no mercy.
 
I don't get angry, I get even. :innocent: Seriously, I strive to get along with people, but if they cross a certain line, or seek harm to myself or my loved ones, I show no mercy.
I am same way. They can mess with me all they want. The second you mess with family or friends...game on. Oh and my property for that matter lol.
 
I have a neighbor who is a Barney Fife impersonator. Even has an old Dodge squad car.
That's gotta count as a memorable person !

Years ago I painted a big Catholic Church in downtown Hammond Indiana. Job took about a month and a half and I developed a friendship with Father Tony. He had a .22 rifle loaded with birdshot and would pepper the rabbits out of his garden next to the rectory.
Across the street was Police Headquarters and a big Library. Nobody said a peep to Father Tony.
I bought him a brick of .
.22 ammo for Christmas !

Some guys on my dorm floor freshman year lit off fireworks in the lounge. The couch caught on fire. By the end of our sophomore year the university decided that we all had to leave that dorm because of all of the vandalism. And no two of us could ever live on the same floor together.( vandalism was never my style.)
 
Well, I have a bit of a strange one here. I've never told anyone about this because it was just so weird and I don't know if I can convey it well enough. I'll try!

I was a student in a big city and I was just entering the main library in town to do some study. My arms were piled high with files and books and there were steps to navigate, and heavy swing doors, plus lots of other people. It was a busy place.

I remember opening one of the doors to go through it and, knowing there was a man behind me, I held the door open for him. He said, "thank you" and I went on my merry way.

A few moments later, I was on a second stairway, making my way to the music section, when said man appeared again and stopped me on the stairs. He said, "you didn't say 'you're welcome.'" I was confused at first and said something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I don't follow", and he repeated himself and stared at me. I realised then that I had neglected to say "you're welcome" when he had said "thank you" when I held the door for him.

Stunned at this bizarre turn of events, I apologised and said, "I'm sorry - I've got a lot on my mind" (referring to my studies) but he just stared at me again. Eventually we went our separate ways, but the encounter has stayed with me ever since.

On the one hand it was incredibly weird because people in big cities hardly ever hold the door for anyone in the first place, so it felt very weird for him to be admonishing me for anything, since I had held the door open for him. The fact that he had said "thank you" would, under normal circumstances, be enough for most people to move on!

Something else struck me, though. He was well dressed, well spoken and very blonde in a sea of people with brown or dark hair. Most people were dressed in casual clothing but his were quite formal. I should also point out that he was not old. He had quite a youthful face and could have been in his late 30s or early 40s at most.

His manner was not at all threatening - it was admonishing, like a father figure. I certainly felt as if I had been gently told off. It was very strange and almost as if he were from another era...
 
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Well, I have a bit of a strange one here. I've never told anyone about this because it was just so weird and I don't know if I can convey it well enough. I'll try!

I was a student in a big city and I was just entering the main library in town to do some study. My arms were piled high with files and books and there were steps to navigate, and heavy swing doors, plus lots of other people. It was a busy place.

I remember opening one of the doors to go through it and, knowing there was a man behind me, I held the door open for him. He said, "thank you" and I went on my merry way.

A few moments later, I was on a second stairway, making my way to the music section, when said man appeared again and stopped me on the stairs. He said, "you didn't say 'you're welcome.'" I was confused at first and said something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I don't follow", and he repeated himself and stared at me. I realised then that I had neglected to say "you're welcome" when he had said "thank you" when I held the door for him.

Stunned at this bizarre turn of events, I apologised and said, "I'm sorry - I've got a lot on my mind" (referring to my studies) but he just stared at me again. Eventually we went our separate ways, but the encounter has stayed with me ever since.

On the one hand it was incredibly weird because people in big cities hardly ever hold the door for anyone in the first place, so it felt very weird for him to be admonishing me for anything, since I had held the door open for him. The fact that he had said "thank you" would, under normal circumstances, be enough for most people to move on!

Something else struck me, though. He was well dressed, well spoken and very blonde in a sea of people with brown or dark hair. Most people were dressed in casual clothing but his were quite formal. I should also point out that he was not old. He had quite a youthful face and could have been in his late 30s or early 40s at most.

His manner was not at all threatening - it was admonishing, like a father figure. I certainly felt as if I had been gently told off. It was very strange and almost as if he were from another era...
Could have been St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of politeness.