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An elderly woman lives in the building next to mine. The day we moved in, she walked by and welcomed us. Her name is Luella, and she's very nice even if she is a bit of a gossip hound. She has a Pekingese named Tony that she walks around the area between our buildings several times a day. Anyway, she caught me at the mailboxes yesterday and started telling me about her problems with the two young boys (I think they're about 20) who moved in above her about five months ago. Apparently, they are loud and discourteous. They probably work at a restaurant because they go to work in the late afternoon and return home at two in the morning. Luella has taken to sleeping during the afternoon because she can't sleep once they bring the party home with them. Last Thursday, their guests had a drunken brawl just outside her apartment. She was preparing to take Tony out for his nightly wee when she heard the commotion. It terrified her. She started crying as she was telling me this story. I think part of it was fear and part was frustration because she feels like she can't do anything about the situation. The office is trying to be cooperative, but they can't throw these boys out just because of a bit of noise. They say they can take action once they receive the police report from the incident last Thursday, but they can't make any promises. The laws are in favor of the troublesome tenants now. Supposedly, these boys are moving out at the end of May, but that's also not a promise.
Personally, I'm a bit annoyed that this kind of behavior is going on here. This is a luxury apartment complex. It has some of the highest prices and one of the nicest locations in the city. Most people who live here are relocating to Albuquerque, are professionals, or are retired. Actually, there are surprisingly few young folks. I'm a great neighbor until you prove yourself to be an inconsiderate ass. And then I'm the worst neighbor you can imagine because I will complain and do my best to get you evicted. And I'll be happy about it when you are evicted.
At any rate, poor Luella has to deal with these boys. I'm not close enough to be bothered by their behavior, so I can't in good conscience complain. She's also fearful of another man who lives here named Sebastian. She says Sebastian drinks far too much and he frightens her when he tries to talk to her. I've never met Sebastian, so I don't know whether she's exaggerating or if he is creeptastic. Sebastian and her boys upstairs are having some sort of feud--because they hate each other--in which the boys were trying to attack Sebastian when he got out of his car. Sebastian apparently threatened them with a knife. This is all, of course, hearsay coming from Sebastian and these boys told to Luella on separate occasions. And then told to me. Whatever. Ridiculous.
So, Luella tells me that she's fearful of taking Tony out to pee after dark because she doesn't know who will be outside and if they will be drunk. She's afraid of retaliation if she calls the police on anyone. She actually plans her route out in the evening. She makes sure she is near a "friendly" apartment if she should need help. There are several people she talks to here in the complex, and she sticks around their apartments because she says she can't defend herself. Do I think this is overreaction? Yes. This is actually a very safe neighborhood, besides the stupid boys and Sebastian. Do I blame her? I can't really. She has trouble with her hips, and she said if some drunken person were to harass her, she couldn't run away. She's also afraid they would try to hurt her dog because of a previous incident at another apartment complex.
Anyway, I felt so horrible that this little old lady was crying and upset that I gave her my cell phone number. I told her to call me if she needs any help. She has no family and no friends who are younger than her. Basically, she has no one to call should she find herself in trouble, and that's just not right. I offered to take Tony out anytime after dark if she was afraid. She knows I have a license to carry a concealed weapon, and I'm certainly not afraid of drunken kids. I also told her that should she need help getting home, she can always come knock on our door and Jason or I will walk her back to her apartment. She was so grateful for the offer that it made me feel even worse for her. She started crying again and said that she's always afraid that she'll have to go to the hospital for a treatment and no one will be there to take Tony out to pee. So, I told her that I would do that for her if she gets in a situation like that. I can't imagine having no one to help me, and I don't want her to have to feel like she's in that position either. Ferguson and Tony get along quite well, so I could just keep the little guy until she's able to come home.
On a not-so-magnanimous note, I'm in a foul mood over going to Jason's mother's house again for another family function. They need to restrict these things to once a freakin' month or something because I can't hang.
Personally, I'm a bit annoyed that this kind of behavior is going on here. This is a luxury apartment complex. It has some of the highest prices and one of the nicest locations in the city. Most people who live here are relocating to Albuquerque, are professionals, or are retired. Actually, there are surprisingly few young folks. I'm a great neighbor until you prove yourself to be an inconsiderate ass. And then I'm the worst neighbor you can imagine because I will complain and do my best to get you evicted. And I'll be happy about it when you are evicted.
At any rate, poor Luella has to deal with these boys. I'm not close enough to be bothered by their behavior, so I can't in good conscience complain. She's also fearful of another man who lives here named Sebastian. She says Sebastian drinks far too much and he frightens her when he tries to talk to her. I've never met Sebastian, so I don't know whether she's exaggerating or if he is creeptastic. Sebastian and her boys upstairs are having some sort of feud--because they hate each other--in which the boys were trying to attack Sebastian when he got out of his car. Sebastian apparently threatened them with a knife. This is all, of course, hearsay coming from Sebastian and these boys told to Luella on separate occasions. And then told to me. Whatever. Ridiculous.
So, Luella tells me that she's fearful of taking Tony out to pee after dark because she doesn't know who will be outside and if they will be drunk. She's afraid of retaliation if she calls the police on anyone. She actually plans her route out in the evening. She makes sure she is near a "friendly" apartment if she should need help. There are several people she talks to here in the complex, and she sticks around their apartments because she says she can't defend herself. Do I think this is overreaction? Yes. This is actually a very safe neighborhood, besides the stupid boys and Sebastian. Do I blame her? I can't really. She has trouble with her hips, and she said if some drunken person were to harass her, she couldn't run away. She's also afraid they would try to hurt her dog because of a previous incident at another apartment complex.
Anyway, I felt so horrible that this little old lady was crying and upset that I gave her my cell phone number. I told her to call me if she needs any help. She has no family and no friends who are younger than her. Basically, she has no one to call should she find herself in trouble, and that's just not right. I offered to take Tony out anytime after dark if she was afraid. She knows I have a license to carry a concealed weapon, and I'm certainly not afraid of drunken kids. I also told her that should she need help getting home, she can always come knock on our door and Jason or I will walk her back to her apartment. She was so grateful for the offer that it made me feel even worse for her. She started crying again and said that she's always afraid that she'll have to go to the hospital for a treatment and no one will be there to take Tony out to pee. So, I told her that I would do that for her if she gets in a situation like that. I can't imagine having no one to help me, and I don't want her to have to feel like she's in that position either. Ferguson and Tony get along quite well, so I could just keep the little guy until she's able to come home.
On a not-so-magnanimous note, I'm in a foul mood over going to Jason's mother's house again for another family function. They need to restrict these things to once a freakin' month or something because I can't hang.