Have you every had a strange neighbor? I’ve had some interesting ones in the past.

Al, an old next door neighbor decided to put in a pool. Oh, but not in the backyard. He chose to put it in the front! After he put the pool in, he didn’t like people looking at him sunbathing and swimming so he added a 6 foot fence and gate. The gate was always closed.

When Al got transferred, he rented his house for a year. That was a curious period. UPS trucks came and went all day long, as well as cars late at night. They would pull up, the gate would open, someone would run out, envelopes and packages were exchanged. We never found out what they were doing but our other neighbor, Bob, the Sheriff deputy, kept an eye on them. They moved out suddenly and another family moved in. They were quiet and no problem.

We bought another house after the 1994 earthquake. My mother was going to move in with us and we had finally found a house that would work for 3 generations. We were having some remodeling done and my  mother had already moved in.

I had been at the house until about 10:45pm talking with my mother and a drapery/blind company rep. My mom called me at work the next morning to let me know that our house was on the news. Say What? After I left, there was a shooting in the driveway of the house next door. The gunman had used our yard to escape. The young man who was living next door, had committed a robbery. He had agreed to testify against the other guy in return for a lighter sentence. Well, the other robber thought that the robbery was his 3rd strike (in California, at the time, if you committed a 3rd crime, you were ‘out’. You were given a life sentence.) His solution was to hire a hitman to kill the ‘witness’. This genius was wrong in that the robbery was only his second offense. DUH. He did get life in prison as both people died.

The next guy who moved in was renting. He turned it into a halfway house. That was a bit uncomfortable. A number of men lived in the house. He didn’t have the correct permits to run a halfway house so he eventually moved. A taxi pulled up one day a few months later and a few people got out. I jokingly said “Oh, they must have just gotten out of prison.” We laughed. I later found out that I was right. They minded their own business for the most part. Until the ‘man of the house’ started chasing the woman around the front yard with a taser. She was screaming for help. 911 was called, he was hauled off and they moved out. A couple bought the house later that year and it was quiet after that.

I sold the house after both my husband and mother passed away. I wasn’t sure where I was going to live so I rented a Condo for a short time. This was an eye opening experience. I like to refer to the busybodies that walk through the complex looking for infractions as the Condo Gnatsies. You know, those pesky little buggers that swarm around and cause trouble. These people have nothing better to do than to bother everyone else. A note was left on my door that I had left my garage door open too long. Another time I received notice that my son’s truck was parked too long in front of the garage. The date and time was noted. Another person in the complex had a similar truck. I heard it running and opened the garage to see if it was my son. No, it was the other truck and he was parked in front of my garage talking with a neighbor. I took a picture of his license plate. I sent it to my landlord with a note: ‘If you get a complaint about the truck, this is the one that was parked in front of the garage for the past hour.’ Never had another problem.

My most recent odd neighbor experience unsettled me a bit. There is a woman, I call Odd Lady, from down the street. She walks her little dog all the time. She meanders through the streets, ’vaping’ the entire time.  No problem with that. We have plenty of vacant lots and fields on the street. There is no need to purposefully have your dog do his business on well kept lawns. I have seen her do this a few times to my neighbors yard.

I was leaving my house a few weeks ago and pulled my car out of the garage. I threw it into park so I could check the mail box. Well, Odd Lady started waving at me. I waved back. I did not heed my usual rule: Don’t engage. Don’t make eye contact.

“Hi, my name is Lisa. What’s your name?” she said.

“Fran.” I replied. Lisa, Odd Lady, had loosened the leash so her dog could come closer to me.

“Oh, he’s been throwing up so maybe you don’t want to pet him.” Right, I have no desire to pet this dog. “Where’s your dog? I never see her outside”

“She’s in the house. She has the backyard to play in.” I say.

“What do you do?”

‘Wow, kind of nosy’ I’m thinking. I don’t know why but, I answered  “I’m retired.” I’m getting uncomfortable with the conversation.

Then she says: “You’re never home.”

What, she’s keeping track of me? RED FLAG, Warning, warning! “Uh, I park in the garage. You never know when I might be home.”

“Well, that’s true.  Hey, I’m a nurse if you ever need anything.”

“Ok, thanks.” I got back in my car. My phone dinged, I had a text. I sat in the driveway answering the text. Odd Lady was standing off to my left. It looked as if she was talking with someone but I couldn’t see anyone. Suddenly movement from behind the pine tree.

OH MY GOD!

Out stepped a young man of about 12 or 13 dressed in camouflage and holding a rifle of some sort. It had a scope and what appeared to be a tripod type thing in the front. I about had a heart attack. He walked over to Odd Lady and they headed home. He was there the whole time keeping an eye on her while she took her walk.

After my heart beat returned to normal, I drove away. Later, on my way home, my next door neighbor was outside. I stopped to talk with her. I told her about the weirdness earlier with Lisa, Odd Lady. Turns out the kid is her son and he most likely had a BB gun. She has seen him in the past with it. I guess that is a relief. It wasn’t a real gun though it could still do damage, I’m sure.

I’m going to keep an eye out for Cammo boy and Odd Lady Lisa and remember my rule: Don’t engage. Don’t make eye contact.
What’s happening in your neighborhood?