Of Drums and Dumb-Dumbs

Upfront disclosure. This is a rant.

Neighborhoods are interesting places. I would imagine that, in any particular one, a person might find that 80%-90% of the folks that live there are decent people. They take pride in home ownership. Their properties are well-maintained and landscaped. They mow their laws, they rake their leaves, they plant nice trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. They put appropriate holiday decorations up and out and then promptly remove them when the holiday is passed. If they live in deed-restricted community, they abide by the covenants. Homeowner Association Dues are paid promptly. If they have children, they don't allow said children to walk across their neighbors's properties or drop wrappers from their ice cream bars or Halloween candy on the sidewalks. If they own dogs, they keep them from barking at unreasonable hours and pick up after them on walks. There might be neighborhood block parties from time to time; people getting together who, although they are not necessarily friends, genuinely like each other well enough to share a beer or two on a sunny summer Saturday afternoon while eating a variety of BBQ fare from a pitch-in picnic. Folks drive carefully and within the speed limit up and down the neighborhood streets, knowing there are children at play. Those that utilize the community pool are respectful of others doing the same; keeping an eye on their kids to ensure no horseplay or rough-housing, minding the lifeguards and not attempting to get into the pool area off-hours.

When Mr. B and I moved into our current neighborhood, we knew, since it's relatively large, that we'd likely run into some issues; the 10%-20% of people who, frankly, either just don't give a crap about anything or have a sense of entitlement that they are special and are not required to follow the rules of the neighborhood. Even before Mr. B decided to sit on the Board of Directors for the Homeowner's Association, we each had noticed several things going on within the neighborhood that ranged in the annoyance factor from slightly irritating to really driving us up the wall. Maybe this was why he made the choice to get involved; hoping to make things better.

Now that he's been on the Board going on two years, he's at his limit of tolerance of dealing with the contingent of idiots in this community. I was at mine a while back.

Maybe I'm simple, but, I believe if there are rules that you signed up for, you comply. If there is something that you find unreasonable, you challenge it, but, in a thoughtful, process-oriented fashion.

Those 10%-20% I've mentioned apparently believe otherwise.

In addition to the what I refer to "lazy-ass" syndrome (not picking up newspapers off their driveways or removing flyers adhered to their mail boxes or moving trash and recycling bins back behind their house for days after the pick-up people came through), these people seem to believe that, even though they signed at closing a document agreeing to follow all neighborhood covenants, it's ok for them to:

1. Park in the street on a regular basis. This is a big, big problem because our streets are relatively narrow in many parts of the neighborhood. There are many people who do this, and, over the past year or so, the HOA has been on a campaign to get them to stop. They've received warning letters. They've had the opportunity to come to a Board meeting and explain why they've been in violation and why they should receive a variance. Many of them don't respond to any of the communication they've received and simply continue to park in the street. Others call up the management company and threaten lawsuits. Still others have shown up to the meeting and then been thrown out for becoming disruptive. One home owner, who happens to live in a Cul-de-Sac, feels he should be able to park on the street because he's "not in anyone's way". Forgetting the fact that this isn't a viable reason for a variance, it's isn't true. From our vantage point up "on the hill" above him, I've seen how difficult it's been for delivery trucks, trash pick-up, etc., to maneuverer around his big hulking freaking SUV. Another guy down the street from us has something like six cars so, he feels it's ok for him to park them on the street because where else is he going to park them? Except, he ALWAYS has open space in his driveway. He next tried the "I've got a Handicap Sticker"; seeming to think this meant he could park the car with the sticker anywhere, even if it wasn't a legal parking space. I'm convinced that one of these "gentlemen" is our Beer Can Bandit (someone on occasion throws an empty beer can into our yard; usually, it's around the time the Board has been sending violation letters out about the parking situation). I really, really wish someone who has been complaining about people parking on the street would stand up in the open meeting and challenge these idiots. That's what it is going to take (receiving several violations of $100 each hasn't cut it, they simply don't pay it). Someone should say, "Excuse me, Joe Blow, I also live in this neighborhood and I really want to understand why you feel that you don't have to abide by the rules, but I do?" Of course, no one does. They just bitch and complain on the Yahoo Message Board.

Obviously, parking on the street is a big issue. So big, in fact, that the Board is holding a special hearing meeting in early December. After that, everyone that continues to park on the street will start to receive regular violations and fines. And, if they don't pay the fines, it will be sent to collections. Eventually, their homes can be foreclosed on by the HOA if the fines are not paid. I can only imagine the bro-ha-ha that will ensue. It seems to me it'd just be easier to stop parking on the damn street.

2. Not paying dues and fines. Obviously, Mr. B cannot (and doesn't) share with me who, exactly, is delinquent. He has, though, told me some of the excuses (all of them lame) and that several of those who refuse to pay (or even work with the Board to set up a payment plan) drive around in new BMWs or Mercedes. Oh, and another thing about the dues. Relatively speaking, they are nominal. Compared to what I was paying in California, even compared to what we pay for the townhouse we own in North Durham, they are a drop in the bucket. And yet, another thing that people bitch about is how nothing gets done in the neighborhood; the landscaping is crappy, the streets are a mess, there aren't enough pool chairs at the pool (a place I've NEVER seen crowded in the four years we've lived here, BTW) and we're paying ALL THIS MONEY in dues! Maybe we should have this group of people go after the other group of people who refuse to pay them.

3. Erect structures (sheds, fences, additions or a new mail box) or make visible changes to their property (expanded driveways, trees, extensive landscaping) without getting prior approval from the Board. Living in a planned community means there is supposed to be a certain "look" to the place. Yes, we're all individuals, this isn't Stepford, but, there are rules to be followed. More than once, Mr. B's had to get into it with a home owner who has built something without first getting the okay. These people actually have the audacity to drive by when Mr. B is out working in our yard and bitch at him because they didn't do what they were supposed to do and he called them on it. One of them was the guy who appears to be running the used car lot; he erected a shed that a) did not match the color of his house and b) the siding was vertical instead of horizontal. I told Mr. B that these folks are lucky they don't live in some of the other neighborhoods I've lived in; they'd be required to rip out/take down whatever they did, at their expense, even if it were ultimately approved. Too bad, so sad.

So, this is the dumb-dumb part.

Drums. Our next door neighbor, a guy we do genuinely like even though for the life of me, I cannot figure out his family situation, has a three year old son. A sweet little boy; when we see him, he's always friendly and smiling. The last few months or so, he must have received some drums. Many times throughout the day, I can hear him banging away on them. Our houses are close enough that, especially if it's relatively quiet, you can hear it. And, one good thing about our neighborhood, it IS usually fairly quiet.

So, anyway, a few weeks ago, we started to hear this banging at what we consider unacceptable times. Such as, after 9:00 pm. Or, very early in the morning. Once, it started at 6:30 am and lasted for an hour. The next morning, it began at FIVE THIRTY AM and again lasted for over an hour. After that, I'd had it. Upon thinking about a reasonable way to approach the matter, I decided to send his father (who is a city cop, BTW) an email and inquire as to the loud banging we'd been hearing. I phrased it in such a way as to express concern more than annoyance; hoping it'd give him the chance to save face but also take care of it.

It worked. We exchanged a few emails; he said it was his son and his drums, he was really sorry, he'd see to it.

Yey! Or, so I thought.

Last night around 10:45 pm, the freaking banging started up again. Dad wasn't home (we'd seen him leave for work earlier that afternoon), which means the child was home with either his mom, a sibling, a babysitter, who knows. Who cares? Whoever they were, they must be deaf. And, what the heck was a three year old doing up at 10:45 at night, anyway? After a bit of "discussion", Mr. B went over and rang the doorbell. No one answered so I dug out the father's phone number (which he'd given me in one of the emails). When he answered, I told him it was almost 11:00 and we were hearing that banging again. He told me he'd call the house and "take care of it". It did stop, but, it started back up around 8:30 am. I guess this was "ok", we were awake, anyway, but, who knows what's going to happen? Seriously, how hard can it be to take a drum away from a child at bedtime?

Drums. Dumb-dumbs. Drums. Dumb-dumbs.

End of rant.

Mrs. B

Going Green? They Wish!

I know that I've blogged about this before. Our local newspaper, The News and Observer, publishes a free supplement called The Durham News. Up until this week, they delivered it to every single house in our neighborhood (and I'm sure many other neighborhoods in Durham) each and every Saturday. The problem is, most people (apparently), are not interested in reading this (which I'm sure is the newspaper's hope; that someone will read it and decide to subscribe to the paper itself). In fact, the majority of the people that live in my neighborhood simply ignore the supplement, leaving it wherever the carrier threw it (sometimes in driveways but more often than not on the sidewalk, in lawns, or in the street). After a good rain (and we've had our share of rain) and being run over many times by the lazy residents, these supplements evolve into moldering, soggy messes. Quite the eyesore. So, it's become our mission (me, Mr. B and Lucy) to pick up these papers while out on our walks and toss them high up onto driveways where it is more likely the resident might actually pick them up. Sometimes, if one has been in a driveway for a long period of time, I'll pick it up and throw it onto their front porch. Yes, there are a few houses that, despite these efforts, NEVER pick them up and they'll probably be there in 100 years.

Anyway, several months ago, I wrote a letter to the editor complaining about this; not just the eyesore but the general waste (this after reading they were laying off people at the newspaper). At that point in time, we were getting the supplement twice; as part of our normal subscription (tucked inside the Saturday paper) and then also an extra supplement thrown by itself onto our driveway. I did receive an email back from the paper apologizing for the duplication and, since then, they have not delivered the extra supplement. However, my broader point to them had been they shouldn't be delivering these supplements, period, given the tough economic times.

This week, they started to deliver the supplement on Wednesdays as well. So, now we've got two days per week of these damn things to contend with. And, as usual, our neighbors, for the most part, ignore them and leave them laying where they fell.

Now, here is the ironic part of the whole thing. In today's supplement, they introduced a new columnist, who, apparently, is going to write about things Durham can do to "Go Green". Additionally, in the Home and Garden section of the regular paper, there was a focus on "Green" activities, and, I kid you not, one of articles talked about how to "eliminate the paper trail". Seriously!

So, I decided to try sending yet another letter to the editor. This is what I sent:

Going Green? You Wish!

I find it extremely ironic that you've introduced the new "Green Durham" column AND your Home and Garden section today focused on going Green in the same week that you began to deliver The Durham News supplement on both Wednesdays and Saturdays. As if one day of unwanted newspapers cluttering up driveways, sidewalks and streets (your carriers have zero aim) isn't enough, now there are two days a week to contend with!

How many carbon footprints is your organization leaving on the Earth while delivering these UNWANTED newspapers?

If you don't believe that they are unwanted, take a gander through any neighborhood where you deliver them and check out how many of them are moldering away outside in wet, sloppy, mounds.

Thanks for contributing to the general unsightliness of our city's neighborhoods.

And you think you are going Green? Give me a break!

We'll see if it does any good. I'm sure it won't, but, you never know (and at least I felt better after sending it).

Tomorrow, it's back to throwing papers at people's front doors

:-)

Mrs. B

The Weekly Newspaper Toss and Ditch

Well, it's Tuesday, which means this is the day Mrs. B and Lucy, while out on our walks around our neighborhood, start "Ye Olde Weekly Newspaper Toss and Ditch".

Every Saturday, one of our local papers delivers to EVERY house in the development (and probably the city) a supplement called "The Durham News". If one subscribes to the paper, they get this supplement twice; in their Saturday paper and also as an aside.

Frankly, this irritates me and always has for a lot of reasons, but, mostly it is because it is a waste of paper to deliver something weekly that the majority of the people that are receiving it didn't ask for it and ignore it. Also, for those of us that go off on vacations from time to time, calling up and stopping your regular subscription does NOT keep this particular supplement from being tossed on your driveway (or somewhere nearby), which sort of defeats the primary purpose for suspending ones subscription (so as not to alert people that you are not home).

Of course, I guess in our neighborhood, one definitely could NOT make that assumption because NO ONE picks up this damn thing!

Hence, "Ye Olde Weekly Newspaper Toss and Ditch".

On Saturdays, as we walk, I think to myself, "Oh boy, look at all of those newspapers (meaning, the supplements). But, it's too early to start picking them up because some people actually do pick theirs up. Maybe they even read it. But, most folks just leave them lying there in their driveway, on the sidewalk in front of the driveway, on the street in front of the sidewalk in front of their driveway, in their grass, near their mailbox; wherever the newspaper morons happen to have thrown it (WHY can't they at least get them up into people's driveways? I mean, c'mon, the STREET?)

By Sunday, a goodly portion of the newspapers are gone but just as many are still lying there, despite the fact that the owners of the houses are out and about, mowing their lawns, backing out of their driveways to go to church or out for breakfast or to the park or wherever they are going. They go, the newspapers stay. Still, I don't start picking them up yet, mostly because there are a lot of people out and about and I'm not really interested in getting yelled at.

Monday is my favorite day, by which I really mean, it's my "I totally can't believe this" day. Why? Well, it's the day that the recycling comes and most people have their blue recycling bins out. Of the houses that still have their paper lying around Monday morning, you'd be surprised how many of them actually LEAVE it lying there, despite the fact that someone in that house has hauled their recycling bin down to the curb. Hell, sometimes that paper is lying right NEXT to the bin and they still couldn't be bothered to pick the damn thing up and toss it into the bin.

Sometimes on our Monday afternoon walk and if I'm out before the recycling guys come, I'll walk around picking up the stray papers (in the case of this week also extremely wet and soggy papers) and throw them into recycling bins.

So, by Tuesday morning, I'm ready to start the toss.

If a paper is within easy reach of our path, I'll pick it up and toss it onto the driveway that I think it belongs to.

This morning, I did this roughly five times. There were a few others that I wanted to pick up, but, there were people (from other houses) in their driveways so I walked on; I'll likely get them this afternoon.

By Wednesday or Thursday, there won't be too many left lying out in the streets (but you'd be amazed how many of the ones I tossed up into driveways are STILL there; some of these houses have a nice collection going).

Last Friday, I walked by a house that I've been playing a nice game of "toss" with that entire week. I tossed the paper onto their driveway Tuesday morning, by Wednesday morning, it was back out on the street. So, I tossed it back up onto their driveway, by Thursday morning it was back out on the street (and, by the way, I know it was the same paper because it was basically disintegrating, it was so old and wet). So, Friday afternoon, there it was again out on the street. This time, I picked it up and tossed it up to their front porch, where it hit the front door with a loud thunk.

I stood there, a 44 year old woman with a dog, wondering if I should run! This sort of reminded me of the "doorbell ditching" game we'd play as kids, run up to a door, knock on it or ring the bell, and then run like hell away and hide.

Well, I didn't run; instead I said quite loudly, "Dispose of your (you-know-what) paper! Nobody opened the door, BTW.

Today, I noticed that that paper was STILL on their porch.

So, it's amazing to me, it really, really is.

First, why does the paper insist on delivering this supplement to people that obviously do not want it and also, why can't they improve their throwing techniques?

2nd, OK, so, you didn't order this paper, but, heck, you've got it! Why aren't more people picking it up and reading it (then disposing of it properly)? Doesn't anyone around here CARE about what's going on in this city?

And, finally, PICK IT UP! I don't get how people can just walk by and ignore something lying there on their property, especially once it gets old and ratty and soggy and starts to embed itself into their driveways.

What IS it with people?

Well, I am happy to report that, since we've started "Ye Olde Weekly Newspaper

Toss and Ditch", more people ARE picking their papers up on their own.

So, maybe we're getting a point across to some of them.

Mrs. B

Neighborhood Annoyances: Final

Backing out of my driveway this morning reminded me of one of my biggest pet peeves in this neighborhood and that is people that park their (extra) cars on the street such that it makes it nearly impossible for others to either back out of their driveways (without making a zillion contortions) and/or drive safely down the street without risk of pegging a parked car. We've had issues with the people that live across from us before parking their huge SUV on the street. We asked them not to several times, they continued to do it, so we complained to the HOA and they received a violation letter. For the most part, they stopped parking out there until recently. Their oldest son got a "new" car and so now it's parked out there all of the time. I don't understand why these people don't "get it". Frankly, I think they're just stupid. So, now we have to decide whether or not to complain AGAIN. Oh, by the way, the kid wrecked his first "new" car and this one is already banged up, too. And, the rear end of his mother's SUV looks a sight. Must run in the family. Maybe they wouldn't notice if we took a sledge hammer to both of these cars? Better yet, "dad's" Caddy!

Cars makes me think of another irritating thing; people that drive WAY TOO FAST up and down the streets around here. Not just the residents, but also the contruction workers. This is, of course, an incredibly dangerous thing to do because, as mentioned before, there are a lot of pets wandering around but even more of a danger are all of the small children playing in the street. Why people think it is okay to drive 50 in a 25 zone is beyond me but it is (to borrow a tag from Mr. B) a "recipe for disaster" just waiting to happen.

More on breaking rules. Everyone is required to get approval to make any changes to the exterior of their house or to add anything to their property that is visible to one or more other houses. This basically means fences, sheds, screened in porches/sun rooms, fountains (yes, we actually do have one house that has a stone fountain outside their house), children's play equipment (swing sets, slides, etc.) and swimming pools. Also, any significant landscaping activity requires approval. Does anyone around here actually GET approval? Well, we did for our sun room, but, it's pretty obvious that most people DON'T get approval judging from some of the tacky objects around and the shoddy workman/workwoman ship. Many of the fences that were put up are already falling down/sagging in places. Again, some folks just have a "the rules don't apply to ME" attitude and they don't care that their property looks junky and thus brings down the apperance of the entire neighborhood.

Finally, and this is a biggie, there were MANY morons in this joint that were ignoring the water restrictions. I say "were" because, as far as I can tell, no one has been watering for the past several months. However, back in November or so when the restrictions were implemented (and notification of said restrictions were all over the place in the news, in the paper, in the water bills), people were STILL watering their lawns (one idiot was actually watering the open grassy area NEXT to his house). I, of course, took it as my civic duty to rat them out (this included two houses on our street). So, they likely got some sort of communication from The City of Durham about knocking it off; maybe even a fine (I hope so, anyway).

Ok, thus ends my rant (at least for now) about my neighborhood. I'm sure most people that live in a neighborhood/development have similar beefs. Which is really, really sad. Why can't people do what they are supposed to do?

I told The Kid this morning (while attempting to get out of our driveway)that I could really understand why people move to more rural environments where they only have to deal with deers and ducks.

Mrs. B

Neighborhood Annoyances: Part Two

Before I continue with this "series", I do want to point out that the people/houses that I am now complaining about only comprise a small percentage of the folks that live here. But, because everyone else are so polite and well-behaved, these idiots just stand out like sore thumbs!

My next rant concerns the people that don't seem to mind old newspapers, bits of trash and rejected recycling items laying about their property.

Seriously, there are some houses where there the newspapers (still in the plastic bag) on or around the driveway have been there so long and run over so many times by their cars going in and out of their driveway that they are now a permanent fixture of the sidewalk.

Ok, so, they didn't ASK for The Durham News to be delivered every Saturday (for whatever reason, The N&O delivers one paper per household every Saturday whether you ask for it or not; pretty annoying when you are on vacation and have put a hold on your regular deliveries and you come home to piles of these dumb papers all over the place) but STILL. Pick them up and recycle them! Don't just leave the moldering away out there. I don't understand how folks can walk by day after day and just leave them laying there. Exteme laziness, I guess. Too hard to bend over; fat gut's in the way and all.

These same people are likely the ones that continue to put un-recyclable items into their recycling bins, such as pizza boxes or plastic-coated cartons. The recycling pick-up dudes have absolutely no qualms about taking these items out of the bins and throwing them on the guilty party's lawn. Ok, live and learn you dolts! Don't keep putting them in the bins week after week; and, pick the trash up off your yard! Seriously, some houses have misecellanous trash items in their yards for weeks before they finally either get picked up or they simply blow away into someone else's yard who DOES pick them up!

Along these lines, once the trash/recylcing people have come, put your trash can and recylcing bins AWAY! Don't leave them out by the curb for three or four days. Again, these people have to be driving by them as they pull in and out of their driveway. Hello? See me? PUT ME AWAY!

Very recently, there was an incident with one of the people that lives down the street from us with their Christmas Tree. Ok, so, Christmas was, like, six or more weeks ago and they were JUST putting the old tree out for the trash to pick up. Problem was, they waited too late and the trash folks had stopped picking up trees (I think the last Monday of January was the last tree pick up date in our neighborhood).

So, what did these people do?

They drug the tree across the street and threw it in a vacant lot in full sight of anyone walking or driving down the street. Not only was it unsightly, it was also a) not the proper way to dispose of THEIR tree and b) a potential fire hazard, given our drought conditions.

I ratted these folks out by contacting the HOA. They were sent a violation letter and told to property dispose of their tree.

This week, I noticed that they had drug it back across the street and left it in the vacant lot NEXT to their house and next to one of the construction trash bins. I guess they got lucky because someone disposed of it for them.

How lazy can people be?

I rant about this because, it only takes a few idiots like these to really bring down the look and feel of an otherwise very nice neighborhood. I wish there was a way to "vote them off the island"!

Mrs. B

Neighborhood Annoyances: Part One

A few days ago, I blogged about the houses in our neighborhood. Continuing on with the neighborhood theme (and things I observe while I am out walking the dog) and questions of taste aside (and I must say there are some people around this neighborhood that seem to have very little of it), I'm going to write about several items that annoy, irritate, disgust and simply perplex me about some of the people in this neighborhood.

The first and foremost category the fits all of the above (annoy, irritate, disgust, perplex) are pet owners and in particular, dog owners. Ok, there are some cats that are allowed to roam around free which is, frankly, just plain stupid in a neighborhood full of construction trucks and heavy machinery; but, it isn't terribly annoying (although I really don't want to squish one while driving down the street).

So, dog owners. There are, of course, the owners that let their dogs crap all over the place and never pick up after them. Not only is this against the law (and against the HOA rules), it's just plain disgusting. I really wish I could catch one of these lazy slobs red-handed (or, rather, poop bag-less handed) because I'd let them have it (just ask the huckle berry that lived across the street from me on Saratoga Drive). Seriously, what I know I'd do is I'd catch up to them and hand them one of my (many) poop bags (I always carry a stash on me when I walk Lucy) and say, "Excuse me! EXCUSE me! It looks like you might be in need of one of these bags, you forgot yours, right?" and let them try to weasle out of THAT. I will never understand why people think it's ok to leave their dog's crap all over other people's lawns. You can rest assured that they don't let their dog crap on their OWN lawn.

In the neighborhood on the other side of ours is a house that has a sign in its lawn that reads, "Here lies the last dog that crapped in my yard". What is should say is, "Here lies that last dog OWNER that let their DOG crap in my yard"!

A funny (and tsk tsk tsk inspiring) story; I was walking Lucy a few days ago. Lucy's got "dog-dar" (like radar) for whenever there is another dog anywhere in the vicinity. So, her dog-dar perked up her ears and I saw a ways down the street a huge dude walking this little pip-squeak of a dog. He didn't see us; so, I watched while he let the dog crap in someone's yard. He started to walk away, and, for whatever reason, he turned his head and saw me and Lucy standing there watching him. And, get this. At that point, he walked back to the poop, pulled a poop bag out of his pocket, and picked it up. So, this goes to show if people KNOW they are being WATCHED, they WILL pick up after their dog. Maybe we need to form a neighborhood poop watch committee.

Another dog owner irritant; people that don't control their dogs, either while out on walks or at their own homes. There is one guy who has a dog that is wildly out of control. Whenever I see him and said dog, I try to stay away because the dog is also nasty towards Lucy. The guy, a smallish man, lets his dog literally drag him down the street. When the dog sees someone, it gets up on its hind legs and lunges towards the person. If it sees Lucy, it lunges and growls, which causes Lucy to get her 'tude on. The owner always says to me, "Sorry, sorry!" I want to say, "Dude, get control of your animal!" One day, he was across the street from us and observed Lucy sitting down at the corner. He said, "Wow, you taught her that?" Yeah, I did. Spend some time with your pet, why don't you? BTW, I'm pretty sure he's one of the ones that doesn't pick up after his dog but I haven't caught him yet.

And along the lines (of people that don't spend time with their dogs), there are several houses where I know there are dogs but I have no idea how many or what type because they are always locked up in the garage. I walk during several different times of the day, days of the week, etc., and some of these dogs are ALWAYS in the garage. Even when there are cars in the driveway indicating someone is home. Now, come on; why in the heck have a dog (or dogs) and just leave them locked up in your garage? These are people that should not own dogs. Get a cat, they are less maintenance.

My last two dog complaints and then I'll get off the dog-rant are folks that let their dog outside to do its business while they watch from INSIDE (there is one in particular, a small little yippy dog, that lives in the corner house on a very busy street). The dog runs around the front yard, then, if it sees someone, it starts to follow them. Yesterday Lucy and I came across Yippy out on the sidewalk. I stood there for a bit trying to figure out if I should go to the front door with the dog because it kept trying to follow us. Finally, I heard someone inside the house pounding on the window and the dog raced off to the back door. BTW, my guess is that the owner of this dog is grossly overweight and could likely use getting off their fat ass and walking their dog.

The final complaint are people that tie their dogs up outside. Across the street from Yippy is another small dog that, on nice days, is tied to a stake in the back yard. Whenever this dog sees us, it goes ballastic and runs around and around until it is wrapped around one of the porch pillars. One of these days, that dog is going to strangle itself. A few houses up is a beagle that is ALWAYS tied up outside in front of the house. I just don't get it. I feel so sorry for it as it lays there, mournfully watching me and Lucy walk by. I always say, "Hi, sweetie!" but what good does that do? Poor dog.

Well, this has gone on long enough for today. I'll post some of my other neighborhood observations later!

Mrs. B