The Burbs
Strange things have happened at my neighbors house for the later part of last week until today. Now let me say that I am in no way a nosey neighbor, that is, until something strange happens. It is then that I am forced to see what is going on.
Now let me start off by telling you that my boyfriend and I have resided in our home now for the better part of three years. On one side of us we have a young couple like us in a nice brick home. On the other side of us resides a family of four, their house is as old as ours except it looks as though it has never been maintained...at all. Over the time we have lived here I have increasingly felt sorry for this family. It was two years ago that their front windows were mysteriously busted, and for the two year period after that they never replaced the windows. For a time they strategically placed a board infront of them but that didnt last long. I have seen animals jump through those open windows. I imagine many things have come and gone through those windows. Their back yard is so overgrown that even their dog stayed on the back porch and barked continuosly. The children, a boy and a girl, I would say the boys probably 15 or so and the girl 13 or so. They dressed in all black every morning and stood away from all the other kids at the bus stop always facing the ground. I know this because our front yard just happens to be the neighborhood bus stop. Instead of using their driveway they pull their cars through their front lawn right up to the front door and hop out and into the house. Their lawn looks like a mud pit for a monster truck rally. Other than all the above mentioned things I have seen I have never spoke to them or they to me. This is all I know....until last Wednesday.....
So on last Wednesday I left work at my usual 4:30 in the afternoon. When I arrived home there was a fire truck parked in my driveway and it looked as if our house was on fire. Thick black smoke seemed to be bellowing from the roof over our living room. My heart fell clean to my feet as the thoughts of this went racing through my head. I got out of the car and walked around the front of my house only to find 4 firemen standing between ours and the above mentioned neighbors house, looking up at their chimney. It was then that my panic was put to rest because clearly the smoke was comeing from the neighbors chimney and not our house. Shewwwww! This smoke was not the smoke of a regular burning fire in a fireplace, it was thick and black and smelled of burning plastic or tires. The firemen spoke to me for a second commenting on how the people across the street ( a retired couple) had called them and told them my house was on fire and what they had found upon their arrival. Then I went inside and the firemen proceeded to knock on the neighbors door and then entered. They stayed in there5minutes at most and then left. The rest of the evening and all night long that stinky black smoke billowed from their chimney. Strange.
Then Thursday arrives, I left work and when I arrived home my neighbors were gutting their house and piling it in a huge pile, HUGE, in their front yard. I mean this pile had everything in it matresses, walls, furniture, lamps, dishes, clothes etc. The nieghbors seemed to be doing this in a frantic pace as well and it all just seemed rather strange. Maybe they were finally tired of living like that and they were going to remodel, I thought.
So Friday rolls around and Im headed home after another days work. Well when I got there I witnessed even more odd goings-on. My neighbors, God love 'em, had one car pulled in their front lawn facing the front door with its bright lights on and one car infront of their garage doors, again, facing them with its bright lights on, infront of both cars was a large barrell and they were coming out of the front and garage doors throwing things in these barrells and burning them. Odd. Then later that night Brandon and I heard a loud roaring noise coming from their house so we walk out on our back porch and they have no power--its a generator. Now I am just dying to know whats going on over there I mean its killing me!!!
Well Saturday I hd to work until 4 and then it was back home. When I arrived home they were gone. Gone. Vanished. The front door of their house...wide open... the back door...wide open...the house completely empty. You would never know it had been resided in or beleived it if it wasnt for the huge pile of discarded possecions in the front yard. No for sale sign in the yard. No nothing.Hmmm???
Sunday morning I wake up earlier than usual so I decide I am going to go ahead and cook breakfast and then wake Brandon. As I am cooking I hear what sounds like a dog moaning outside. I try to ignore this for a moment but as my soft spot for animals is,well as big as the pile of shit in my neighbors yard, I went outside on the back porch to see what the fuss was. My neighbors dog. So I went out my front door and over to their back yard and sure enough there he was. They left their dog. LEFT HIM!!! Now I knew the people next door werent well off but apparently all they had ever fed this dog before was what few scraps they threw out the back door every so ofter because I could count every bone this dog had in its body! All of themvisible right down to the poor dogs leg bones. He was starving and locked in the back yard of what looked to be an abandoned home.
So in my pajamas, hair not even brushed yet, I went to the groery store and bought a big bag of Alpo and 4 cans of wet dog food--the good kind. I am posotive this was a treat for him. The dog now resides in our back yard as to it was Sunday and I couldnt figure out what to do with him. I am afraid if I call animal control to pick him up they will surley kill him, no one will want this dog untill he looks healthy again.
I can not beleive someone would do that to an animal. I cant beleive someone would just up and abandon their home either. I tell you it is the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. I cant figure it out and Im sure I never will. Just as sure as I am that that house is going to sit next to us empty for quite sometime due to the condition its in. This just goes to show you that people can be going through any and all kinds of situations in their lives that are difficult. I wonder where the family is and if they are okay, especially the children. I wonder if maybe I should have been a better neighbor, gone over there, introduced myself. Maybe I could of helped them out---I highly doubt it but I could have tried.
Now let me start off by telling you that my boyfriend and I have resided in our home now for the better part of three years. On one side of us we have a young couple like us in a nice brick home. On the other side of us resides a family of four, their house is as old as ours except it looks as though it has never been maintained...at all. Over the time we have lived here I have increasingly felt sorry for this family. It was two years ago that their front windows were mysteriously busted, and for the two year period after that they never replaced the windows. For a time they strategically placed a board infront of them but that didnt last long. I have seen animals jump through those open windows. I imagine many things have come and gone through those windows. Their back yard is so overgrown that even their dog stayed on the back porch and barked continuosly. The children, a boy and a girl, I would say the boys probably 15 or so and the girl 13 or so. They dressed in all black every morning and stood away from all the other kids at the bus stop always facing the ground. I know this because our front yard just happens to be the neighborhood bus stop. Instead of using their driveway they pull their cars through their front lawn right up to the front door and hop out and into the house. Their lawn looks like a mud pit for a monster truck rally. Other than all the above mentioned things I have seen I have never spoke to them or they to me. This is all I know....until last Wednesday.....
So on last Wednesday I left work at my usual 4:30 in the afternoon. When I arrived home there was a fire truck parked in my driveway and it looked as if our house was on fire. Thick black smoke seemed to be bellowing from the roof over our living room. My heart fell clean to my feet as the thoughts of this went racing through my head. I got out of the car and walked around the front of my house only to find 4 firemen standing between ours and the above mentioned neighbors house, looking up at their chimney. It was then that my panic was put to rest because clearly the smoke was comeing from the neighbors chimney and not our house. Shewwwww! This smoke was not the smoke of a regular burning fire in a fireplace, it was thick and black and smelled of burning plastic or tires. The firemen spoke to me for a second commenting on how the people across the street ( a retired couple) had called them and told them my house was on fire and what they had found upon their arrival. Then I went inside and the firemen proceeded to knock on the neighbors door and then entered. They stayed in there5minutes at most and then left. The rest of the evening and all night long that stinky black smoke billowed from their chimney. Strange.
Then Thursday arrives, I left work and when I arrived home my neighbors were gutting their house and piling it in a huge pile, HUGE, in their front yard. I mean this pile had everything in it matresses, walls, furniture, lamps, dishes, clothes etc. The nieghbors seemed to be doing this in a frantic pace as well and it all just seemed rather strange. Maybe they were finally tired of living like that and they were going to remodel, I thought.
So Friday rolls around and Im headed home after another days work. Well when I got there I witnessed even more odd goings-on. My neighbors, God love 'em, had one car pulled in their front lawn facing the front door with its bright lights on and one car infront of their garage doors, again, facing them with its bright lights on, infront of both cars was a large barrell and they were coming out of the front and garage doors throwing things in these barrells and burning them. Odd. Then later that night Brandon and I heard a loud roaring noise coming from their house so we walk out on our back porch and they have no power--its a generator. Now I am just dying to know whats going on over there I mean its killing me!!!
Well Saturday I hd to work until 4 and then it was back home. When I arrived home they were gone. Gone. Vanished. The front door of their house...wide open... the back door...wide open...the house completely empty. You would never know it had been resided in or beleived it if it wasnt for the huge pile of discarded possecions in the front yard. No for sale sign in the yard. No nothing.Hmmm???
Sunday morning I wake up earlier than usual so I decide I am going to go ahead and cook breakfast and then wake Brandon. As I am cooking I hear what sounds like a dog moaning outside. I try to ignore this for a moment but as my soft spot for animals is,well as big as the pile of shit in my neighbors yard, I went outside on the back porch to see what the fuss was. My neighbors dog. So I went out my front door and over to their back yard and sure enough there he was. They left their dog. LEFT HIM!!! Now I knew the people next door werent well off but apparently all they had ever fed this dog before was what few scraps they threw out the back door every so ofter because I could count every bone this dog had in its body! All of themvisible right down to the poor dogs leg bones. He was starving and locked in the back yard of what looked to be an abandoned home.
So in my pajamas, hair not even brushed yet, I went to the groery store and bought a big bag of Alpo and 4 cans of wet dog food--the good kind. I am posotive this was a treat for him. The dog now resides in our back yard as to it was Sunday and I couldnt figure out what to do with him. I am afraid if I call animal control to pick him up they will surley kill him, no one will want this dog untill he looks healthy again.
I can not beleive someone would do that to an animal. I cant beleive someone would just up and abandon their home either. I tell you it is the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. I cant figure it out and Im sure I never will. Just as sure as I am that that house is going to sit next to us empty for quite sometime due to the condition its in. This just goes to show you that people can be going through any and all kinds of situations in their lives that are difficult. I wonder where the family is and if they are okay, especially the children. I wonder if maybe I should have been a better neighbor, gone over there, introduced myself. Maybe I could of helped them out---I highly doubt it but I could have tried.
This story almost made me cry. I hope the dog is ok.
Posted by
Rachel Keller |
9:00 AM