Help me with thieving neighbors!!!

Larry_OHF · 05-30-2001, 12:27 PM

I thought this would be a good place to rant and get some free advice. Many of you love doing that sorta thing! OK. About 1 year ago this month, my wife and I moved into our first home. Naturally, wanting to make friends with our neighbors, we allowed their teenage boys to borrow tools that I had for whatever. Whenever they needed a few bucks, or a couple eggs, we would give it to them. Gas for the lawnmower, as well. (By the way, the grocery store and gas station are both just a walk away.) We never asked for anything in return. The asking of us to help them grew steadily over the year, yet we always gave without any conservation, (though we are in a bit of a financial strain at the moment), always knowing that good is returned to you.
(I forgot to mention that these neighbors are black...no father in the home, Mom works all the time, 3 sons, oldest is 15yr). I don't know if that matters to any of you.
Anyway, finally when he knocks on my door at 10pm, waking the baby with the door bell, asking for three eggs, I snapped. I reminded him of the time, and told him the truth that we did not even have three eggs. He went to the little old lady's house(across the street) next.
Now, when we caught one of the boys with our gas can without first asking for it, that again kindled the fire. We told them about how we felt, and told him we saw his actions as stealing. (two days later, he did it again....and did'nt even try to hide it. He just left the gas can, empty, on my front poarch.!!!)
Now, the reason that I would not want to come out in the open and flame them and their mom is because I am afraid that they will proceed to do all manner of maliciousness to my home while I am not there. They could get angry that I am taking the defensive, which will spark them to do worse things, just to be on top. Believe me, I know this sort of rationalizing. For the protection of my home and family, I have remained basically quite. Even the old lady neighbor across the street says that I should not start anything. So what the flip do I do?????????????????????????????????

------------------

Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

05-30-2001, 12:42 PM

Why cant we have NORMAL NIEGHBORS! I dont know if you have seen my episode with mine Larry of the famous OHF, (lesson learned) but the fool was shooting out his window again this weekend!. Well, my advise to you is keep your goods locked up and give these kids street talks every time you see one of them. They will get sick of the lectures and avoid you in the end. Mybe just one lecture might take hold before that...Good luck
Conan

Sir Taliesin · 05-30-2001, 12:52 PM

Hate to say it, but you should call the police. They obvouisly don't respect
you now and probably won't in the future eitave to take advantage of her. Shame people have to take advantage of generosity (sp) like that.

------------------
Sir Taliesin

If they take my gun can I still use my Axe?

Gwayne · 05-30-2001, 01:02 PM

Larry,
You certainly are in a bind

I personally would approach thier Mother
and explain to her first what is going on (as you believe it to be) I would
explain if things persist you have done your best to keep peace and the next
step I would explain will be measures you both would rather not see come to
pass. Contact the Police. As long as you allow it to go on it will only
escalate until your back is completely against the wall and you may end up
doing something both parties will regret? let thier mother know that and if
she cant resolve the matter you will be forced to report it to the police.
dont be a victim of your own home.. I think you owe it to yourself as well as
your family to resolve the matter quickly and swiftly.
Best of luck my friend !

------------------

Walk lightly my friend.

Cloudbringer · 05-30-2001, 01:10 PM

Larry,

I can sympathize. Whew! Sometimes neighbors are just not a whole lot of good!
My only adjacent neighbor (I'm on a corner, empty lot behind me) has a nasty habit of having loud (drunk shouting matches) parties in his garage and driveway which are a little under 30 ft from my bedroom...sigh....at midnight they are just getting loud enough to really annoy me and by 3am I want to scream! I HAVE asked them to stop and they kept it up til last year. Don't know what this year will bring but I'm through being nice neighbor and will report them...oh yes, rather than use one of the three bathrooms in the house they use the lawn near my fence...lovely view from upstairs in my place... They also send people away drunk. THAT is something I will report from now on. Drunk driving is on my list of 'not gonna ignore this' stuff. I've seen too many people hurt that way. One other neighbor of mine has said she'd call in a complaint if I ever need to so it won't be just ONE but 'several' when the police talk to the offenders.

As for your situation, I'm thinking that Conan has a plan you might try. If not, the take Sir Taliesin's advice next time things disappear!

Cloudy

------------------

Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
StormCloud of the Black Knight
Heart Mind Soul Forever

Moiraine · 05-30-2001, 01:19 PM

I think you should first go to the mother and talk to her. Because what happens next would depend on whether she is aware of what her sons do or not. Calling the police should not be done first, because the police won't really be able to do anything unless you make a full complain for thievery, and then the guys may think you are a coward and start do nasty things to you and your family. It would happen like that in France, anyway. I DID have once the same kind of neighbour Clouddy has, we asked them to stop making noise late, they didn't stop, we called the police once, the police went to their places and asked them to stop then went away, then the neighbours started doing unpleasant things to us. We moved out eventually.

------------------

The world is my oyster !
And now I have the knives to open it ...

[This message has been edited by Moiraine (edited 05-30-2001).]

Sazerac · 05-30-2001, 01:26 PM

In an apartment/town house community it's easy...report them to the landlords/property managers. They're generally out of there depending on the offense.

Happened with us earlier this month..our cretin redneck neighbors decided it would be jolly good fun to shoot out every single stinkin' window in their garage for "Cinco de Mayo"...for about 20 minutes all you could here was shattering glass and drunken laughing and cussing...and our windows and doors were closed. I'm sure everyone in the neighborhood heard it. I put a call in to "property management" and I noticed that they were moving out the next week...can you say "eviction", kids? Sure ya can!

After the cruds were gone they must have had to completely refurbish that apartment...every piece of carpet was out on the front lawn, and even a broken toilet. I don't even want to imagine what was going on in there.

They just rented that townhouse out to a couple of nice, quiet college girls. Both my wife and I have breathed a sigh of relief. I have a feeling that we weren't the only persons to call that day, though.

Larry, I'd talk with the mother if I were you, but no guarantees...if she starts getting in your face and sassing you, leave and take matters to the next step. I feel for you. Hopefully the advice posted in this thread will help!

Larry_OHF · 05-30-2001, 01:56 PM

Thanks guys/gals. It helps to hear that. Even though I knew how, receiving confirmation first is always the best, and getting different points of views from several people is a great way to do things "the best way".

------------------

Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

05-30-2001, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Larry_OHF:
I thought this would be a good place to rant and get some free advice. Many of you love doing that sorta thing! OK. About 1 year ago this month, my wife and I moved into our first home. Naturally, wanting to make friends with our neighbors, we allowed their teenage boys to borrow tools that I had for whatever. Whenever they needed a few bucks, or a couple eggs, we would give it to them. Gas for the lawnmower, as well. (By the way, the grocery store and gas station are both just a walk away.) We never asked for anything in return. The asking of us to help them grew steadily over the year, yet we always gave without any conservation, (though we are in a bit of a financial strain at the moment), always knowing that good is returned to you.
(I forgot to mention that these neighbors are black...no father in the home, Mom works all the time, 3 sons, oldest is 15yr). I don't know if that matters to any of you.
Anyway, finally when he knocks on my door at 10pm, waking the baby with the door bell, asking for three eggs, I snapped. I reminded him of the time, and told him the truth that we did not even have three eggs. He went to the little old lady's house(across the street) next.
Now, when we caught one of the boys with our gas can without first asking for it, that again kindled the fire. We told them about how we felt, and told him we saw his actions as stealing. (two days later, he did it again....and did'nt even try to hide it. He just left the gas can, empty, on my front poarch.!!!)
Now, the reason that I would not want to come out in the open and flame them and their mom is because I am afraid that they will proceed to do all manner of maliciousness to my home while I am not there. They could get angry that I am taking the defensive, which will spark them to do worse things, just to be on top. Believe me, I know this sort of rationalizing. For the protection of my home and family, I have remained basically quite. Even the old lady neighbor across the street says that I should not start anything. So what the flip do I do?????????????????????????????????

Fill that gas can with water & sugar..

They will never use it again...

------------------
Ziroc
Ironworks Webmaster
www.tgeweb.com/ironworks

Neb · 05-30-2001, 03:29 PM

I would get a big nasty guard dog, or maybe a huge guard anaconda, or maybe put barbed wire around my property, I bet that would at least slow them.

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05-30-2001, 12:27 PM	#1
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	I thought this would be a good place to rant and get some free advice. Many of you love doing that sorta thing! OK. About 1 year ago this month, my wife and I moved into our first home. Naturally, wanting to make friends with our neighbors, we allowed their teenage boys to borrow tools that I had for whatever. Whenever they needed a few bucks, or a couple eggs, we would give it to them. Gas for the lawnmower, as well. (By the way, the grocery store and gas station are both just a walk away.) We never asked for anything in return. The asking of us to help them grew steadily over the year, yet we always gave without any conservation, (though we are in a bit of a financial strain at the moment), always knowing that good is returned to you. (I forgot to mention that these neighbors are black...no father in the home, Mom works all the time, 3 sons, oldest is 15yr). I don't know if that matters to any of you. Anyway, finally when he knocks on my door at 10pm, waking the baby with the door bell, asking for three eggs, I snapped. I reminded him of the time, and told him the truth that we did not even have three eggs. He went to the little old lady's house(across the street) next. Now, when we caught one of the boys with our gas can without first asking for it, that again kindled the fire. We told them about how we felt, and told him we saw his actions as stealing. (two days later, he did it again....and did'nt even try to hide it. He just left the gas can, empty, on my front poarch.!!!) Now, the reason that I would not want to come out in the open and flame them and their mom is because I am afraid that they will proceed to do all manner of maliciousness to my home while I am not there. They could get angry that I am taking the defensive, which will spark them to do worse things, just to be on top. Believe me, I know this sort of rationalizing. For the protection of my home and family, I have remained basically quite. Even the old lady neighbor across the street says that I should not start anything. So what the flip do I do????????????????????????????????? ------------------ Larry, Loyal guardian of the OHF Devoted member of the Ironworks Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet) Ertai's back-up Memnoch's chief look-out Member of the Ancients club

05-30-2001, 12:42 PM	#2
Conan Guest Posts: n/a	Why cant we have NORMAL NIEGHBORS! I dont know if you have seen my episode with mine Larry of the famous OHF, (lesson learned) but the fool was shooting out his window again this weekend!. Well, my advise to you is keep your goods locked up and give these kids street talks every time you see one of them. They will get sick of the lectures and avoid you in the end. Mybe just one lecture might take hold before that...Good luck Conan

05-30-2001, 12:52 PM	#3
Sir Taliesin Silver Dragon Join Date: March 4, 2001 Location: Knoxville, TN USA Age: 60 Posts: 1,641	Hate to say it, but you should call the police. They obvouisly don't respect you now and probably won't in the future eitave to take advantage of her. Shame people have to take advantage of generosity (sp) like that. ------------------ Sir Taliesin If they take my gun can I still use my Axe?

05-30-2001, 01:02 PM	#4
Gwayne Zhentarim Guard Join Date: May 27, 2001 Posts: 350	Larry, You certainly are in a bind I personally would approach thier Mother and explain to her first what is going on (as you believe it to be) I would explain if things persist you have done your best to keep peace and the next step I would explain will be measures you both would rather not see come to pass. Contact the Police. As long as you allow it to go on it will only escalate until your back is completely against the wall and you may end up doing something both parties will regret? let thier mother know that and if she cant resolve the matter you will be forced to report it to the police. dont be a victim of your own home.. I think you owe it to yourself as well as your family to resolve the matter quickly and swiftly. Best of luck my friend ! ------------------ Walk lightly my friend.

05-30-2001, 01:10 PM	#5
Cloudbringer Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Upstate NY USA Posts: 19,737	Larry, I can sympathize. Whew! Sometimes neighbors are just not a whole lot of good! My only adjacent neighbor (I'm on a corner, empty lot behind me) has a nasty habit of having loud (drunk shouting matches) parties in his garage and driveway which are a little under 30 ft from my bedroom...sigh....at midnight they are just getting loud enough to really annoy me and by 3am I want to scream! I HAVE asked them to stop and they kept it up til last year. Don't know what this year will bring but I'm through being nice neighbor and will report them...oh yes, rather than use one of the three bathrooms in the house they use the lawn near my fence...lovely view from upstairs in my place... They also send people away drunk. THAT is something I will report from now on. Drunk driving is on my list of 'not gonna ignore this' stuff. I've seen too many people hurt that way. One other neighbor of mine has said she'd call in a complaint if I ever need to so it won't be just ONE but 'several' when the police talk to the offenders. As for your situation, I'm thinking that Conan has a plan you might try. If not, the take Sir Taliesin's advice next time things disappear! Cloudy ------------------ Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan Storm-Queen StormCloud of the Black Knight Heart Mind Soul Forever

05-30-2001, 01:19 PM	#6
Moiraine Anubis Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Up in the Freedomland Alps Age: 59 Posts: 2,474	I think you should first go to the mother and talk to her. Because what happens next would depend on whether she is aware of what her sons do or not. Calling the police should not be done first, because the police won't really be able to do anything unless you make a full complain for thievery, and then the guys may think you are a coward and start do nasty things to you and your family. It would happen like that in France, anyway. I DID have once the same kind of neighbour Clouddy has, we asked them to stop making noise late, they didn't stop, we called the police once, the police went to their places and asked them to stop then went away, then the neighbours started doing unpleasant things to us. We moved out eventually. ------------------ The world is my oyster ! And now I have the knives to open it ... [This message has been edited by Moiraine (edited 05-30-2001).]

05-30-2001, 01:26 PM	#7
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 60 Posts: 7,387	In an apartment/town house community it's easy...report them to the landlords/property managers. They're generally out of there depending on the offense. Happened with us earlier this month..our cretin redneck neighbors decided it would be jolly good fun to shoot out every single stinkin' window in their garage for "Cinco de Mayo"...for about 20 minutes all you could here was shattering glass and drunken laughing and cussing...and our windows and doors were closed. I'm sure everyone in the neighborhood heard it. I put a call in to "property management" and I noticed that they were moving out the next week...can you say "eviction", kids? Sure ya can! After the cruds were gone they must have had to completely refurbish that apartment...every piece of carpet was out on the front lawn, and even a broken toilet. I don't even want to imagine what was going on in there. They just rented that townhouse out to a couple of nice, quiet college girls. Both my wife and I have breathed a sigh of relief. I have a feeling that we weren't the only persons to call that day, though. Larry, I'd talk with the mother if I were you, but no guarantees...if she starts getting in your face and sassing you, leave and take matters to the next step. I feel for you. Hopefully the advice posted in this thread will help!

05-30-2001, 01:56 PM	#8
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Thanks guys/gals. It helps to hear that. Even though I knew how, receiving confirmation first is always the best, and getting different points of views from several people is a great way to do things "the best way". ------------------ Larry, Loyal guardian of the OHF Devoted member of the Ironworks Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet) Ertai's back-up Memnoch's chief look-out Member of the Ancients club

05-30-2001, 03:29 PM	#10
Neb Account deleted by Request Join Date: May 17, 2001 Location: . Age: 38 Posts: 8,802	I would get a big nasty guard dog, or maybe a huge guard anaconda, or maybe put barbed wire around my property, I bet that would at least slow them.

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