New Rant- Hopping Mad

We are hard working folks. I lived in Los Angeles when I met my Dave who lived in Orange County. We Compromised and found that it was most affordable for us in Long Beach. It was halfway between our work and lives. It made good sense.

Now there is a posh part of Long Beach but we bought downtown because we could afford it. Its up and coming as they say. Getting better, they say. We bought a Victorian in the oldest neighborhood. Lots of 70's apartment buildings but sweet craftmans and Victorians. It is the house of my dreams. It is on the largest single lot in the neighborhood without a rental. My little farm. My little white picket fence has pencil marks runnig the entire length because of kids walking home from school feeli *creative*. Smile.

BUT we have an alley that our barn/garage combo backs onto. Graffitti everywhere. I patiently paint it over. Garbage in the front (ice cream trucks hourly so the wrappers go to our garden) and especially back. I pick it up unless its a sofa LOL. We give the neighbors produce from the garden. Smile and wave!!! (Zanymuse pointed out the importance of that thank you!) I sort my recycling for the trash pickers into bottles, cans and cardboard so that the pickers don't have to work so hard the night before trash day. (yep- I am crazy but I'm not cashing it in and whoever needs to needs an easier time)

Last week, someone deficated on the barn wall. EEWWWW...right? I hosed it off. And filled in the big pothole with bricks that the city *can't* fix.

So tonight, I went to go to the store late and someone had moved a giant sofa right in front of the garage door. My Dave came down to help me move it but not before I started moving it myself. It had poo and rotten fish or something all over it. I reeked like nothing I have ever smelled and threw a temper tantrum in the middle of the alley.

I wish that my problems were neighbors with nazi lawns or a thistle LOL!!

I don't want to give up on my 'hood. I want to like these neighbors. But I reek!!!!!!! And I am angry......

This message was edited Jul 14, 2004 9:34 AM

The problem with moving into an 'up and coming' neighborhood is that as new people come in and try to improve the area the existing people feel threatend. As property valuse increase they fear being forced out. So they mark their territory {Graffiti} and dump their trash near the nicer homes. After all, if you can afford to keep your place cleaned up, they figure you can haul off their junk too.

Hang in there! Keep smilin' and among the people in the area you will eventually find friends. As the neighborhood around you improves you will have fewer problems. In the meantime.... go take a shower... you'll smell better and feel better too!

Oh Zany You know this!! To well! You lived on Cherry for goodness sakes!!

Me, I am the dreamer. I don't WANT people to have to move. We live 8 blocks from the ocean and I want to share!! (whine whine) This is a beautiful country and it should not be that living so close to water means that those working hard and making little money shouldn't live here too.

But its the kids. And the parenting. (another thread/rant but different color).

I used to have the neighbor kids over. They wanted to help on the *farm* (their words, not mine) and would crawl over the fence begging to help. I would let them play with the weedhound, the reel mower, pick carrots, give them juice. They would throw their juice boxes in the flower beds and carve their names in our picnic table. One day, one of them carved his name in DH's car. He lied and said it wasn't him but it matched our table!!!

>>SIGH

Yes, I am afraid I do know. But don't let the actions of a few sour you on the rest. I was lucky when we lived there because we were surrounded pretty decent type families {well, most of them) Or at least it seemed that way to me after moving out of the L.A. City strip between Carson and Torrance! Now that was a real eye opener for a country gal! But even there I made friends that I am still in touch with all these years later.

I don't know what it is like now but it used to be gangland with gunfire almost nightly and cars stripped in less than five minutes on the street. When we first moved in they gave us a rough time but after awhile they figured out that we were not going to leave til we were ready and left us alone.... that and the fact I scared the gang bangers .... but that is not a story for DG ;~}

Still a little gunfire here but mostly no gangs in our little bourough. Not half as many helicopters as the old neighborhood near Kelli in LA. It is, overall, pretty quiet. Just dirty.

And now....we gotta hear the story of How Zany Scared the Gangstas!!!

Go on!

Perks up...
Do tell Zany...

(hugs Daisy)- Hope it all works out. :( Come, live on my farm. XoXoXoooooooo No grafitti here!..... or else... buhahahhahahahhahahaha!.

Thanks, Crims.

Off to the showers hoping to awaken to a new story from Zany.

XOO,M

LOL I'll have to figure a way to tell it so as not to offend.... nope, better leave this one off . Sorry but this one would get me in trouble here :~)

Email me!!! LOL- I really wanna hear it!

Ha! And lose my sweet, innocent reputation of being a level headed and gentle soul?

Well I lost my temper finally last nite. We all have, Zany. W e can leave your story for another time, if ya like.

Guess that I will jusy call the city to come get all of the sofas out there. It is another sunny day!

I have got to hear this story Zany, it cant be too much worse than some of the things me or DH has done, so if you email it to crims I want a copy too!! LOL

Daisy my heart is with you, we live in an area that still bears the name "Hoodlum Beach". Its actualy Woodland Beach but I tell you the cops are my friends because they dont want to have to come out and break up fights either. I would like to think it was "all" of my neighbors calling about the drug dealers across the street but I honestly believe it was me. I was on a first name basis with narcotics after a bit and I got to watch the raid the night they came. That was cool. I am bound and determined to keep this neighborhood safe as possible, I would rather not kick anyone out of thier homes. For the most part everyone is fantastic, some just keep to themselves but wave and others like me can talk your ear off. It is mostly from the rentals I see a problem but they too have learned to walk a straighter road or are in the process of being taught. Too many kids in this area to let gangbangers rule and Im too stuborn to let them.

I have always wondered about the expression "Lost my temper" Seems to me that when anyone or anything pushes me to the brink that I 'find' my temper and let them have a big dose of it !

Go out and enjoy the sunshine, and by all means, call the city to pick up the trash.

As for my story, well I can tell part of it. I found some really funky ragdolls at Pic N' Save. They were only 3" tall and were all different skin tones from white to tan to brown and black. I picked up 2 of each color along with some long hat pins with bright red beaded ends. To make a long story short, I had them convinced that several of them (gang members) had broken legs/arms and one with a gunshot in the neck were because I stuck the "voodoo" dolls with the pins.

They would swagger about the streets until they saw my car coming and then they would melt into the woodwork. It was actually a lot of fun for me :~) We were the only apartment in the complex that was never burglurized and my kids were never pressured to join the gangs.

And before anyone here gets upset, let me state very firmly, that No, I do not practice witchcraft or Voodo ! It started as a joke and since it worked I just let them think I did.

I am not a superstitious person but they were ;~)

There are a lot of rentals here too and it shouldn't be that renters behave like that. My old neighborhood was different I think because most of the families had been here for a few generations. This neighborhood has been in this country for maybe a year or two. They forgot that they don't live in a place they hated before.

Mostly it seems to be the parenting. Its the parents throwing out the old furniture so why should the teenagers care if they paint someones house up or the little kids care if they throw trash over the fence.

Retribution worries me a lot with calling the police. I have a 10 year old daughter. I know you have two beauties too, Draven, so I am sure that you have thought about this too.

So for now, I am calling our city counselor today and demanding that they put lights in the alley, at the very least. They promised those last year.

There are a lot of nice folks around. But even the nice ones let their kids throw chicken bones over the fence to our dogs. grrr.....

ZANY!!!!!!! HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA
Me and mum are laughing hard over that one! Such a great story! LOL.

Daisy when/if you call tell them you want to remain unknown, you can call it in and do not have to give personal info for your own saftey. Unfortunatly you will have to make many calls but the more calls that are put in the more they have to acknowledge there is a problem and will send police out to canvas the area(drive thru) at least several times a day and night.
The police come thru my area quite alot now and I am glad to see it. The saftey of my kids is very important to me, I have watched thru my windows from a dark room so I can see whats going on but not be seen, called police uncountable times, and gone outside to show that someone is up and about. My kids rooms all face the street so if say the dealers that used to live across the street brought guns in then my kids stood a very high chance of being shot for thier illegal shtuff. My family will NOT be callateral damage.
Dont get me wrong Im a big weenie but I will fight for the safety of my family and will bulldog anyone who tries to make me afraid on my own street.
Zany if I thought that would work around here Iwould do it in a heartbeat. I love that, the whole story would probrably make a great movie. Maybe you should see if you could sell it. LOL Wish I coulda seen thier faces when they saw those dolls.

Wait Zany- I wanted to hear it too!! beg beg beg email me

daisyavenue, the little bit I can tell is posted above your next to the last comment. The rest I'll have to figure out if I am comfortable telling :~} Suffice it to say I was a bit Zany even before I had a screen name.

Zany if you lived here you would be one of my best friends.

That is one of the nicest compliments I have had in years~ so I guess we will just have to be cyber friends!

: D

Oops- sorry I missed cuz I rushed : ^ )

But that is hilarious!! I have to tell my Dave about that one!!!!

You'd get burned at the stake in Salem, Zany! But not here (())

Zany - brilliant, just brilliant... took gumption, a sense of humor -- I'm picturing the dolls in your window, or whatever - and the reaction of the folks.

A couple of years ago, we lived a block away from a very bad area in Albany, NY - two drive-by shootings within two blocks in a 6 month timespan. We were the only non Section 8 folks on our block - we were on the corner of a nice street and crack alley.

We ended up with graffiti on the townhouse a few times - I think what was fortunate for me is that I had a 75 pound chow chow that I always walked around with. It was funny to hear the kids say - "stay away from that yard, they have that bad a$$ ugly dog". I was quite amused - gorgeous purebred, well groomed, perfect disposition, father was in Westminster and to hear the lil slum kids call him bad a$$ ugly... *grin* Wonder it it was because chows have a natural scowl and when the kids would come up to me and ask if he bites - my response: "it depends..." as I would grab on his leash hard and pretend to "drag" him back to me. :) (they didn't notice the wagging tail and that he was lunging at them to get petted)

Fortunately, we moved a few miles away to a nice residential area - and with two big dogs now, things are quiet.

:~) I had some hanging in the center of the front window, a couple from my rearview mirror and one on my keychain which hung on the outside on my purse....Always be prepared... LOL

LOL zany!!

I can see Zany standing with hatpin poised over a doll, saying "Son, you want to be able to father any more babies out of wedlock? Then get OUT of here now!"

Nope! Just looked them in the eyes and smirked. They thought it was "the evil eye" But then, they were not really accoustomed to seeing Blue eyes in the neighborhood that didn't look away and act scared to death of them so I had a bit of an unfair advantage!

This is a great thread...

On "lose your temper" I think it might have originally been "loose" like loose the attack dog, you know? (Even if not, I think its more accurate!)

Comforts and encouragement to you all -

My goodness Daisy, you are much much more patient than I am. Especially giving those neighborhood kids giving a place to hang out. We had kids in our old neighborhood that were like that. I sure did not handle those situations as well as you do. Hang in there and be tough with the city. I sure hope you get some cleaning up soon.

Zany - you crack me up! Good for you, girl! You showed them. Whatever works is great. You are not harming anyone and they need a little fear of consequences - even if they have misplaced it in superstition.

KillerChihuahua, " Loose your temper " does make more sense! And your analogy of letting loose the attack dog made me smile. My kids used to threaten to " Turn Mom Loose" on each other. That was a really effective threat on my daughter. She was such an easy going kid that just a harsh look would straighten her out and a good talking too would have her crying so hard you would have thought someone had beaten her. Too bad the boys were not that easy!

Wonderful stories, great ideas; can get dolls and pins; don't think "Attack Toy Poodles" will get me far!

Yesterday afternoon I was getting ready to jump in the pool after moving some plants and my dogs started going nuts at the fence. The gang of toddlers next door were throwing soda bottles over the fence. I put them back over the fence and said 'stop please' in Spanish again and again. 5 pairs of little eyes just looked at me and laughed. They just went right back to throwing trash but at me! Finally a teenage neighbor came by and I asked hom to ask them to stop. He said that he couldn't but that he would tell their mother. He told her and they were promptly moved indoors.

Part of the problem is that no one wants to discipline someone else's kids and as a result, the kids don't listen to anyone other than their parents.

I actually make dolls so I may have to get sewing! LOL Not really- this 'gang' is too young. I wouldn't want to scare them.

Maybe someone SHOULD scare them? :)

From what I know from my hispanic husband if someones kid is messing up like that I know for a fact his mother woulda been going off on those kids. I know my kids staighten up real quick when I ask them in spanish if they want a spanking. At least the mother took them inside. Makes me wonder if they are "indios" my spanish spelling is worse than my english but basicaly its a spanish indian. Do not say chollo/cholla unless you want a fight. Me I would do it if they made me that angry but that takes an awful lot. If you have to keep notes on when things happen just in case you do need to call the police so they can get an idea of why your so upset.
Too bad we dont live near you, my DH Cesar has the "voice" that would make them act right in a heartbeat. and hes fluent in spanish.

Dravs- I am Latina and know what you mean about that "voice" all too well!! Problem is that she didn't use her voice. Just took them inside.

I think that they do react differently to the Dad though. Don't they all? Mine sure does!

Oh Ive got stories about how much nicer and quicker they react to dad than they do me. When it gets more than I can handle I grab the cel phone, say Im calling Papy and you would be amazed at how angelic they act for the next couple of hours. LOL

LOL_ Mum always said . "I'm calling your grandmother!!!" Man we straightened out!

Even funnier in my house was me saying to my mother "I am calling your mother!!!" because Grandma would never let me 'her baby' be treated like anything less than spoiled.

My mom did the 'calling your father' thing but she usually waited until he got home to tell him whatever it was and he just would kind of look vaguely confused and say "don't do that again, okay?"