Love Thy Neighbor?

Oh, the joys of shared-wall living. We never seem to get real winners for neighbors these days. In the last year we've had people who were regularly arrested for domestic violence and who borrowed our hose, much to my annoyance, a genuinely crazy person who complained that we were banging on the walls, and our newest neighbors, who words cannot quite describe.

About one week ago, a seemingly normal-ish, though slightly creepy man knocked on our door. He introduced himself as our new neighbor. The details were vague, but we managed to learn that he is living next door to us, with a roommate. He mentioned a wife and kids, but who knows where they are? Then he began a nightly routine of asking to use our microwave. No fewer than three times he knocked on our door, cup-of-noodles in hand, asking us to cook his dinner. They had no electricity yet, it was supposed to be turned on Friday, but as of right now there is still no meter out there.

Cup-of-noodles aside, he was nice enough, since we were so grateful to be rid of the crazy guy.

On Tuesday when we tried to check our mail the key wouldn't work. A small annoyance, but we were waiting on a Disney movie that we really wanted to watch. We have some connections in the post office, and I called wondering why we couldn't get our mail. It was a mystery. The next day when I went to the post office they said someone else had filled out paperwork claiming to live at our address. Our new neighbor. He must not of known his own house number, because he gave them ours. Luckily we caught it before our mail and Hercules were sent back!

Last night, around 1 am, there was no shortage of noise coming from their side of the duplex. If they would just move to the front bedroom we wouldn't have an issue, but they were on the other side of our bedroom wall, and some of us need our beauty sleep.

It was a predicament. David didn't want to knock on their door, in the pitch black of their powerless house, when who knows what they're doing. We couldn't sleep with them making all that noise. I'm still clueless as to what the heck they were doing, cause nothing good ever happens after 1 am. So David called a mediator, the Benson police. They came by, just to tell the noisy people to shut the heck up, it's one in the morning!

We didn't realize they'd be leaving with one of the neighbors in the back of their car. Apparently he had several outstanding warrants, and making noise in the middle of the night got him caught.

After unintentionally getting the neighbor arrested, although if there's anyone to blame it's him, for breaking the law in the first place, we were kind of uneasy. We don't know these people, and we don't want them to be all pissed off and mad, possible wanting some type of revenge.

After hours of wondering whether they'd yell at us, let air out of our tires or even break the windsheild on the car, that totally happened to me one time and it was such a pain in the butt!, we had an answer. David opened the door this morning to a hand-written note. An apology.

Dear neighbors in 851,
We are sorry for disturbing you, it will not happen again.
Sincerly, (spelled that exact way), insert neighbors names here, including the one in jail.

Also enclosed: a Dallas Cowboys sticker, with a second note.

We thought you would like. P/S. Sorry.

I hope I'm not alone in thinking this is so weird. It's just bizarre. What the heck were they even doing up? They have no electricity. Don't you need electricity to make meth? Why would they give us a weird sticker? David likes the Cowboys, but he also likes sleep and we both like not living next to weird people who get arrested in the middle of the night. I think my landlord is exclusively renting to crackheads these days.