Prophetic Words

Twice in the past week - during moments of frustration with the neighbors - I said: "Maybe the only way things will change around here, aside from us leaving, is if they all either move, drop dead or become disabled!"

Today, while working on the ceramic tile, my son says: "You guys hear about your neighbor?" No and which neighbor, we asked.

Wednesday, the man who's an arrogant jerk but doesn't have property adjoining ours, tried to kill himself. Seems his bartender girlfriend wasn't interested in being amorous so he drove home 10 miles - after drinking for 8 hours - swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills and texted her: "See you in the next life."

She never read the text until the next morning at which time she called 911. According to our source, 911 and the cops have had plenty of experience with him. Anyway, they found him with a faint pulse, rushed him to the hospital in time to put a vent in him and them took his blood alcohol level - 2.04. Yesterday he was vent free so they shipped him to a hospital Mental ward. Today was his birthday and he wanted to party. The staff had other plans so he tore apart a room and knocked a cop out who'd been summoned to help handle his efforts to leave.

After my son left Dad and I took a walk. The ambulance was at an elderly neighbor's. He'd fallen and couldn't get up. Sadly, he's also an alcoholic who drinks every day. Last week we were told he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

This makes two out of six full time residents who are not doing well. They guy with the pontoon boat parked on our land kicked his girlfriend out and has been banned from the country bar. Last year about this time, he too was in a mental ward. He'd barricading himself in his house after he ran out of drugs and booze. His ex-wife refused to return and his disability case for mental problems had not yet been awarded.

That leaves us, another elderly man who was wild until he had a stroke, and a neighbor about 10 years younger than me who I grew up with. This man suffered a head injury in an accident and sometimes repeats himself but seem to otherwise does well. He has three rental homes in town, does woodwork, guides fishermen and hunters and built a log cabin here for a rental.

And people think it's boring in the country and we're the weirdos? Hmmmm...