I Can't Ignore the Boy Next Door
'I NEVER CHEATED ON YOU!!!'
There is a post I have been working on that I keep meaning to put up here on Substack. It is of great import! However it does not seem to come together.
That is because of the boy next door.
I can’t ignore the boy next door! You would not be able to either, if you lived where I live.
The situation is, we have a group home next door. It is a home for men who are — we used to say retarded, however I do not know what the right term is now, and the last thing I want to do is offend. I have every sympathy with these men, and I have met some of them here and there, and my heart goes out to them.
Once during a snowstorm when I had to get downtown to The News, I hitched a ride with some of them in their van as far as the Metro Rail station. As we were en route, the men all shook my hand, solemnly, one by one. It was so sweet. I will always remember that.
However. In the summer, this establishment can turn into a problem, because my windows are open …
… and so I hear everything that goes on in the houses on either side of me. (As I can rest assured they can hear me. That is a whole other ball game.)
This one man next door, he just shouts, all day. Starting early in the morning, around 6 or 7. Continuing off an on until whenever.
Apparently he is having a fight in his head with some imaginary woman. Or — well, I guess he could be on the phone. Who knows. I do not know this man or his situation.
He yells: “I DON’T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!!!”
And: “I NEVER CHEATED ON YOU!!”
And: “THERE IS NOBODY IN MY ROOM!”
His voice is full of rage and sometimes there are obscenities thrown in.
You cannot not hear it!!
Howard and I, we have laughed about how sometimes our friends have been afraid to approach the house because they think we are the ones fighting. It is kind of flattering to think they think we are capable of fights like this. But what else are they going to think, if they weren’t warned? I have not always thought to warn people.
Anyway, that is what I am listening to today.
That important post just has to wait!
Hi Mary… neighbors can be a blessing or a bane….Ive had both types over the years, and Ive said lots of prayers in gratitude for some and intercession for others…hope you’re enjoying summer in the city!