Life is Like High School

Actually, life is not like high school. My neighbourhood can be like high school. It seems that to fit in with some of the neighbors on our street you should ideally have the following profile:

• Be unemployed
• Drink and party all the time
• Have at least four or more troubled children in the house

And so we endure the continuing saga of difficult neighbors. We had two for a while. One on each side. And, as I assume it takes a little more than unemployment insurance to live in $700,000+ houses, I thought both would be selling their homes in short order.

One did. The other still hangs on. A lottery win by their parents got them in to their house. I cannot fathom how they still remain. Regardless, over the past four years, we have endured the most immature conduct. Things culminated to the point where I presented them with a letter pleading for some consideration.

Matters have improved since then but I suspect only because of something going in within their house. What it is I don’t exactly know. However it is an odd drama that is unfolding. Mysterious comings and goings. Prolonged periods where the house is left in darkness. Their children, always yelling and screaming, will virtually disappear for days and weeks on end. The parents appear to be living separate lives.

Weird.

Last night some of their children were left home alone to party. Both parents left. We endured the usual: yelling, screaming, garbage and other material thrown over into our yard.

And, of course it was not sufficient to carry on this way within the parameters of their house. The party had to be taken out front and into the street.

One of the parents returned home after dark. And the other parent sometime later.

I find myself at odds. I am very angry with them for all of the inconsiderate behaviour over the years. And yet I also wonder about what has happened to them. They are obviously troubled.