Friday, April 21, 2017

If I report the bad...

then I had better report the good.

A little while ago there was a knock on my door.  It was my neighbor.  The one of the barking dog and smoke alarm fame.  That one.

He said he was truly sorry for the trouble he had caused.  He hoped I would accept his apology and his assurance that there would not be a repeat performance.

I accepted his apology.  All I want is for him to take responsibility for his actions and to stop doing dumb stuff that threatens me and mine.  And aside from the smoke alarm incidents, he is a quiet neighbor who doesn't bother anyone.

I do not know what brought about this change in attitude.  And it really doesn't matter.  I will give him the benefit of the doubt.  After all, he isn't the only one living here who has slipped into stupid at one time or another.

And I would hate to see Cooper have to move.  I love that dog.  :)

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. deborah...I would love to have a dog like Cooper. Much to my annoyance, I am physically incapable of taking proper care of any animal that requires walks and exercise. Wish things were different, but there it is.

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  2. My guess is someone else who lives in that building had a quiet word with the landlord about how his tenant's actions were endangering the life not only of his wife, but also his mom, and he would not be happy about it if any thing happened to either of you. Or,

    The fire marshall had a not so quiet word with the idiot and told him if they get called to this address again (3 strikes and you're out) he would be charged with yada yada whatever so straighten up and knock it off or face the consequences.

    I had a father-in-law who was a Captain in the city fire department who had NO trouble telling folks they were screwing up and to knock it off. Firmly. In a way that left NO doubt in anyone's mind he would kick your keister down the street if you transgressed again. He was a tough little Irishman, and a wonderful father-in-law. Lol.

    I totally understand about the arthritis in feet and ankles. My trouble is my brain thinks I'm still 30ish, but my body is 59ish...and let's me know when I do too much.

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    1. Suz...I don't know what happened, but my guess is like yours - someone explained the consequences of any further bad behavior. It was a somewhat humbled man who apologized to me. I hope this will end the late night smoke alarm blaring. I am adopting a wait and see attitude. I know a couple of the guys on our local fire department. They don't mind being called out when someone burns something on the stove. They do mind being called out when the person burning food is too drunk to deal with it. And like your father-in-law, they are not shy about saying so!

      Funny thing - we know what will happen when we try to do too much - and we do it anyway. I have that problem too. My mind tells me I feel 30 inside but the body is nearly 71. Of course, I expect it would be worse if my mind believed it was that old. :)

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  3. I have an alternate theory. He is trying to sniff out whoever dropped a dime on him so he can wreck his dreadful vengeance upon them. It's all a clever ploy. ;-)

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    1. I hate to punch a hole in your theory, Harry, but I think he already knows. He spent some time a couple of days ago flipping off Lori whenever he saw her. My guess is the landlord likely set him straight. Whatever the reason, I hope it worked. I'm not real sure this guy is capable of a clever ploy. :)

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    2. Well, at least he won't mistakenly blame you. I was checking to see if you had suddenly disappeared!

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    3. I'm still here, Harry. :) I couldn't even, in all good conscience, call the landlord because I slept through the police and firefighter's arrival. But I'm pretty sure that someone in the building did or I doubt I would have received an apology. Apology notwithstanding, I did chew him up a bit for putting my home and my life in jeopardy. Time will tell whether the apology was sincere.

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    4. Dropping a dime is always dangerous. Especially here, where the dispatcher often forgets that everybody and their dog listens to the scanner. So they will call out a police dispatch and say "We have a subject named Joe Dokes at 1985 Deumaflatchi Road, and he is reporting suspicious lights in the woods, thinks somebody might be spotlighting."

      That can be bad for your health.

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    5. I usually mind my own business unless someone is putting my family in danger. And then I have been known to go all 'mama bear get away from my cubs.'
      Here in this suburb it is rare to find a couple dozen people listening to the scanner at any given time unless there is a snowstorm and icy roads, and then they listen to see how many folks are sliding off into the ditch. Or they listen if summer storms are moving in.
      Minneapolis and St. Paul are another thing altogether. That's where the majority of the gangs operate. There is always something going on there - shootings, stabbings, fights, street robberies, citizens being harassed, etc. You couldn't pay me enough to go to either city.
      I am careful. The neighbor is pretty much a local drunk who works a job and spends his nights at the bar. I have had no trouble from him the past several years he has lived here, aside from the three times he has burned his supper to a crisp. He actually is pretty decent when sober.

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  4. Hopefully, he came to his senses like I did during my burning dinner phase. Of course, I was not drinking at all. I just cannot accidentally nap with food on the stove. However, the crockpot solves burning. Maybe you could tell him about those. It would do him a favor. I have never tested the theory, but I think you can drink and use a crockpot.

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  5. Linda...I'm just pleased that he owned his behavior and apologized for it. Now I will wait and see if he meant it. You are right about the crockpot. I think you really have to work at it to burn anything in one. :)

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  6. Wow! I am glad to hear that he did that, as he should have.

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    1. Jenn...I was somewhat surprised. I hope he meant what he said because other than the smoke alarm thing, he is a decent neighbor.

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