Staycation: Day 5

Day 5 was a victorious day in the ongoing war with my next door neighbor.

You see, I live next door to a clan of obtuse idiots who obviously have absolutely no regard for their neighbors or the common man... i.e. me!

Years ago, I read some guy's blog about the continued problems he had with his neighbor... it was funny because it wasn't happening to me. Well, now I don't find that as funny anymore.

It all started when I moved in. I should have spent more time looking around the "hood" before purchasing... but I was a naive and excited new home owner. Had I done so, I would have seen that while there are 3 individuals in the house, there were 4 cars typically parked at the house.

The old man had a new pickup and an old 1960's pickup parked in his driveway... but sometimes his "lady friend" would come by and that would be three cars parked back there. Oh, and that old pickup? He drove it about a half-dozen times each year... and each time, it took him about an hour to get it started... revving the engine and billowing smoke. He still has that crapper!

The old man's daughter lives with him, along with her son. Between the 2 of them, they have gone through 4 cars in the past 5 years. Now she drives her son's pickup and he drives the car she used to have... not sure why the change... but because of the parking lot in the back yard, they park out front.

About four years ago, I looked out to see the old man building a fence. While that may be a good thing, you should see this thing. It's crooked, it has poles sticking up, and it definitely displays a quality of "ugly."

Then the old man decided that he wanted to move the large "barn-like" portable building that was butting up to my fence and put it into his back yard. Great... I welcome the view. However, he also purchased an enclosed gazebo and stuck that in his backyard... which houses his hot tub for he and his lady-friend. Nice.

So about that time, he and I had discussed building a new fence. He let me know that he wasn't going to pay any company and that "we" could build this fence together. Knowing me, imagine the look on my face as I gazed over at his crappy fence.

I then got the ball rolling once my fence was about to fall down. I let him know that the fence was coming down, a new one was coming up, and if he wanted to pitch in for the shared cost of "our" side, here's the amount. No response. So, I ate that cost and we haven't spoken since.

Last year the old man decided, "Hey... I'm retired. I'll buy an RV!" So he poured a slab next to my fence and now parks a beautiful van-camper right next to my yard which I think he has used "maybe" 3 times. It just keeps getting better.

So let's take stock in what is going on back there: Old man's PT Cruiser, 1960's crapper pickup, RV, and sometimes a "lady-friend" Probe that is parked at a slant so it doesn't impede the alley. And did I forget to mention that all of this is in the driveway because he has a BOAT in his garage???

Which brings me to this year... because of everything going on back there, the grandson and the daughter still park out front. Well, because my mailbox is on the property line, they usually park either right in front of it... or too close where the mailman can't deliver the mail... even though they have at least a full car length of empty space between them and their mailbox.

I have asked them multiple times not to block my mailbox... or please don't park too close. I have not only put my own notes on their vehicles, but also the ones I get from the Postal Service saying, "We didn't deliver your mail yesterday because of the vehicle impediment."

This became extremely frustrating last year when I was getting bill after bill for the knee...

Nobody should have to live like this... where they aren't sure if their mail will be picked up or delivered each and every day. I shouldn't have to get a PO BOX just because of the idiots next door.

So with the help of my good friend David, we moved the brick mailbox yesterday. And believe you me, it was NOT an easy fete.

From the first picture above, you can see the closeness of the grandson's car. You can also see that it was leaning quite badly... once we pulled it up, we realized that there was absolutely zero foundation underneath it.

David thinks that it may have weighed about 600 lbs. That's a lot of weight... and not a lot of fun with a bum knee. So, we went through the process of jacking it up... dropping it on plywood that was on top of PVC pipe for rollers... and "scootching" the sucker down the sidewalk a few feet and into it's new resting place.

This whole project took us from 10am until almost 5pm. Long day... sore muscles. But, as you can see, we have a better foundation and I have at least a full car length from the property line to my mailbox. I would have moved it further, but then I would be getting "involved" with the sprinkler lines.

So that's the story... Oh, and while we were in the middle of it, the old man comes out to get his mail. He goes, "That looks like a lot of work." Gee, you think??? And hey, any clue as to WHY someone would be doing this you dumb ass???

After the labor-intensive week I've had, I'm definitely taking it easy this weekend before I return to work on Monday. It's been a great "Staycation." I recommend it to each and every one of you if you ever have a lot of things to take care of around the house.

Now, back to the grindstone...