Like many people, we don’t know all our neighbors’ names. We know some.
Tony moved in when Don and Deb moved out.
I know Justin, cause he has a dog, and although I always wave to his dad and have spoken to his mom a few times, I don’t know their names. They are Mr and Mrs Justin’s Parents. Mrs Justin’s Parents works nights. Mr Justin’s Parents loves to mow grass and mows half the lawns on our street. They usta live across the street without Justin, but now they all live together in Jim’s house because it’s bigger. Yes, I know Jim is no longer with us, but it’s still Jim’s house, ya know?
Rob and Holly have boys and they are soccer fanatics.
We know the other parents of four — Kate and HER FINE ASS HUSBAND. At least for three of us. Maybe The Mister knows his name.
We met Boy Mommy right after we moved in. Not seen her since. There’s a large tree between us.
Then there are the antisocial people with the dogs.
Hermit Lady. I had a lively conversation with Hermit Lady about four years ago, but I don’t remember her name. I liked her. At least for 20 minutes.
Dementia Lady moved out. Dementia Lady apparently kept a lot of not-her-mail when accidentally delivered to her home. That’s how we found out she had dementia. A family moved into Dementia Lady’s house and they have a black lab.
Why is it that I’m okay with the black lab runnin all over our yard, but I don’t like their kids doin that?
I thought it was like time flipped my old people switch but it wasn’t age-related at all, because Sassy bug-eyed the window one day and shouted, “Where the hell did all these kids come from and why are they runnin through my yard?”
What is that? It’s not like they’re hurting anything.
Y’all, I don’t really believe in land ownership or corporations owning all the corn or whatever. Not like I don’t believe these things exist, but rather, I’m more communal or socialist or hippie dippy trippy — but not with my last soda… So, you know, technically, legally, these kids were trespassing, but they also weren’t hurting anything.
Do people not teach their kids to stay outta other people’s yards anymore?!?
When I was a kid, we knew whose yard we could cut through. Where all the yards met, we played in an L-shaped space because there was one neighbor who hated kids in his lawn.
We could walk through Gordon’s cornfield all but when he’d just planted.
The guy on the corner of Young and Oyler would come out and yell about his shotgun if we even walked too close to his honeysuckle bushes.
(On Sundays when he went to church, we walked through the alley and sucked that side of his bushes dry. Heathens, the lot of us.)
OLD MAN MOTTERN AND OLD LADY MOTTERN AND YOUNG MOTTERN 3 DON’T WANT YOU RUNNIN THROUGH THEIR YARD, but they dunno why.
Anyway, that black lab. That dog’s name is Cooper and we’re fans. We dunno his humans’ names.
Not too long ago, Sadie and Cooper had a nice meet cute with leashes and butt sniffing and a bit of tangle, then this week, he came a callin, right to the front door. He stood there, tail waggin, like, “Can Sadie come out and play?” I let him in and we all walked through the house to the back yard for the playin.
They had the bestest blurriest furriest time, and we enjoyed watching them.
Happy Friday Everyone!
joeyfullystated 
I like your names for your neighbors. That’s how we refer to people, too. Three Foot HIgh Red Jammies lives behind us while Little Poodle Who Scared The Deer lives in front of us. Do these people have proper names? I dunno, but I know for sure that Georgia, the Cocker Spaniel, lives beside us. So, only the important names stick with me. Nice photos of puppy fun.
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Thanks! Oh yeah, the doggy names are important! I’m glad y’all name people the same way 🙂
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Oh Joey, this is so great! I wave to the man with the big poodle every morning on my way to work. And can hear Lava and Java and big bro Manna all the way up the street with their human. Dog names? Absolutely! Human names…..not so much. A “Hi, how are you?” works just fine for me.
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I just love that. Man with the big poodle reminds me of Man with the yellow hat. Imagine if we said, “Hi, how are you?” to the dogs and got all cutesy with the people, “Who’s a good human? Who’s a good woman? That’s right, you’re the best!” 😛
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haha! Oh, Joey–the image in my head…..too funny.
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That is cute how the Lab came calling. The only neighbor we knew was Mama, she would always pray for the day she could move into a “home” can throw her adult kids out. She finally got her wish. I don’t know lives there now. We also knew a couple across the street; I don’t remember their names. They had a pool table in the attic. The previous owners put it in but couldn’t get it out. They moved. Happy Friday.
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Lawd. There is somethin to be said for a woman who can’t wait to get to the old folks’ home to get away from her kids.
I actually know several people who have pool tables in rooms they can’t leave.Free assembly is often included in the purchase, but the tear down and reassembly costs as much as moving a piano!
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In Mama’s case her desire to get away from her kids say more about them. They were both a couple of no account crack heads.
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I am one of those grumpy neighbors. The local kids were in the habit of marching all the way down my driveway – and then trampling through my pachysandra to get to the other neighbor’s yard behind us – on their way to the schoolbus. The driveway wouldn’t have been a problem, but trampling my plants was. We put up a half fence. They went around, through Charlie’s yard. Charlie didn’t care – his kids tromped through the yard behind theirs along with the rest of the bunch. Ours didn’t go to school, so there was no reciprocity. The little trespassers came from blocks away to use our driveway.
The one year our kids went to school, I asked permission for them to cross – and it was granted. But I grew up in Mexico City, where every house has a high wall around it with broken glass embedded at the top against burglars, and people walking across my lawn didn’t work for me.
Maybe I would have gotten used to it if the kids hadn’t trampled. A couple of them also rode their bikes!
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Interesting. I am a fan of fences and walls, too. I can’t even try to deny it. I wish I wasn’t like that, but I so am.
In 8th and 9th grade, I’d get off the bus early with my friend Amy, walk through a cul-de-sac, up someone’s driveway, and through their yard, JUST LIKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS, Then we’d hang out at my house til the bus showed up at my actual stop, where Amy got back on and went home. The neighbor in question did not mind though, and always let us play back there, too. Sassy’s got a friend who lives behind that house and there’s a fence now. Poor kids. LOL
I would NOT be quiet about it if people trampled my flowers. That would not be okay.
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It gets wearisome to watch them do it EVERY DAY without the slightest respect for anything; putting up the fence, and diverting them (the neighbor had obviously been allowing it forever) seemed better than standing out there EVERY FRICKIN DAY and yelling, “Get off my pachysandra!”
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Yeah, I can’t handle anyone botherin my plants.
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“but it’s still Jim’s house, ya know?” Absolutely! We still refer to Gary’s house at the end of the street even though he and his wife died year’s ago. And the house next to him is still Gary’s neighbor’s house, even though it’s changed hands a few times since Gary died. Must respect tradition.
Dogs that are welcome, are welcome. People, not so much. We know some people’s names, but I think we like the people whose names we don’t know, better than the ones we do. One neighbor that we know has gradually morphed into “our idiot neighbor” so doesn’t matter any more that we know his name.
This is a great post. The dogs look like they’re having a blast. It’s nice that you let that happen.
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Thanks! I truly enjoyed your commentary on the neighbor who morphed into idiot neighbor. Yeah. I get that.
We used to be regulars at the dog parks on post. Sadie still loves to play, but her parents don’t want to pay $110 a year and drive her 15 minutes one-way to play with other dogs. (We seldom even do that for our children…) So now, it’s pretty much visiting dogs or stranger dogs in chance encounters.
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It’s good that Sadie is sociable. Maddie is not. Chance encounters are actively avoided.
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Well, at least she has YOU 🙂
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Those dogs are so cute. We’re the same way. We know Charlie and Edith next door and that’s about it. Some of the houses became rentals and folks don’t stay long enough to learn them. We call the one across the street the Clacker Lady’s house. She was there when we moved in all those years ago. She’s been gone for fifteen years now. My wife and I survived playing with Clackers when we were young. One day the lady was out gardening, and had a low cut shirt. My wife named her, and it stuck.
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LMAO! That is a hoot! Clackers! Hah! Tremendous story! Thanks!
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Pups are the ultimate ice breakers!
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🙂
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In FL had long high steep-sloped driveway. Biggest hill in Fort Walton Beach, which has zero hills. Kids asked me if they could ride bikes and stuff down it. I said yes. They did until my neighbor, ass-hole-Danny, could not MY(his)OB and told them that they could not do that. They stopped. I have not stopped being pissed at Danny-the-jerk for running off my kids. Danny got evicted, I moved and the kids prolly grew up. Dang, lady…now I wanna write about my neighbors. LOL Yer such a muse. Have a great weekend.
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There’s always that one guy. It’s odd, cause it’s just a front yard thing for me. Kids play all over the back and I don’t care if they play in the drive, but good gravy, don’t play run through my front yard! What’s wrong with you?!
Dammit Danny, don’t be a dick.
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I’m like the crabby old man yelling at kids to stay out of the yard. Have been since I moved in, in fact.
We’ve lived here thirty years, and I hardly know all the neighbors. The ones I knew have moved out and I haven’t met the others. I know the people who live either side of us, the guy across the street that was here when we got here, and the guy down the block that we used to go to church with, but after that, I got nothin’. Oh, and the lady who lives directly across the street from us, who I met when she was working as an election judge…
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I”m younger, but equally crabby about kids in my front yard. Good mercy.
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If I knew how to insert a gif in a WordPress comment, I’d be inserting the one with a scowling Clint Eastwood where he says something about: “Get those damn kids off my lawn.” Seems fitting here. 😄
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I feel that!
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My husband knows all about the neighbors, their names, what they do, at least for the 5 houses across the street from us, the two houses on the left of us and several houses on the right of us. He’s one of those talkers. Me, not so much. I know them now but only because of him. He knows if there is unusual activity going on too and will go to “check it out” being the good neighbor he is. One of the neighbors who have been on the block since before we moved in 21 years ago even called him the “Mayor of 2nd Avenue” because he was so into everybody’s business. I smile and wave when I see them but don’t go out of my way to chat them up.
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Oh Em Gee, Janet, SAME! My husband is super chatty. I’d say I’m the observant sort. I sometimes deliver sweets at the holidays, but that’s like, the hilt for me. “Happy Holidays! Bye!” The Mister actually goes out and makes the effort. People-people, what ya gonna do? 😉
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Loved this! I’ve missed reading my daily dose of Joeys. 😊 Keep the dogs outta my yard yo! Don’t even get me started… I’ve had it up to here with the nasty neighbor renting upstairs next door and her insistence on letting her dog crap where I grow my food after I (not so) kindly asked her to please stop. I recently had to put up temporary fencing to make it stop. It was seriously messing with my sense of peace. I even burnt sage around the perimeter of my garden to clear out all the bad vibes. 🙃
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IN YOUR GARDEN!?! That’s not normal, just so you know. Not normal. Not a dog’s natural inclination at all. Tsk. I hope the fencing pans out. Seriously.
And thanks, Jewels! 🙂
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Yep, not normal at all. I don’t blame the dog though – pet behavior is typically a byproduct of the people who care for them. I’m glad Sadie has a fun furfriend to play with ❤
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Adults cutting through our yard (and getting in the shed, and walking around on the porch…) is why we keep the fence up. (We are the only ones with a 6′ fence..) Landlord hates it, though theres not a lot he can do about it. Wth is up with folks in trailer parks that think everything is their damn yard, anyway?
And OMG JOEY! CRAZY NEIGHBORS are moving!! Hooker neighbor is still around tho..blah.
HAPPY FRIDAY 🙂
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I do not think it’s a trailer park thing. It’s a general lack of respect thing in any neighborhood ever. Apparently. I’m glad CRAZY NEIGHBORS are moving 😀
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Ah, a post every reader can relate to. 🙂 I’m so old I remember when you only walked on a sidewalk or driveway to get to a neighbor’s house. I’ve had too many pets to count and cleaned up after every one of them. I don’t get the neighbors walking their dogs on someone else’s yard and leaving the you know what there instead of picking it up. Someone explain to me why I have to pay taxes AND walk in your dog’s crap. There – grumpy old me heard from. 🙂 We have neighbors all around us – I know the names of four and wish it was only three. Then there’s the old guy with the black pickup, the crazy guy up the road, the family with the chickens, the electrician, and the guy with the wood. 🙂
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Right on. Grumpy people unite. Funny, but I don’t know what my neighbors do. At one time, Kate worked at a brewery, because she brought us some beer and some nifty bottle openers, but I don’t think she works there now. Otherwise, I dunno anyone’s occupation.
I always clean up after my dog, but honestly, I don’t let Sadie walk or make in the yards. I let her stop at the fire hydrant to sniff and pee because that’s like a dog signpost, but she has plenty of yard to make #2 in, doesn’t need to do it in anyone’s yard.
My crazy guy up the road had to be moved to a group home when his mother passed. He was a kindly man, but I don’t miss his odd housecalls and partial nudity.
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“…the bestest blurriest furriest time….” Best. Line. Ever.
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Thanks! It was a happy time for all 😀
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A lovely exchange of neighborhood gossip. I would reciprocate, but I know even less about my neighbors—except for the rare exchanges and yardsale finds!
With the Nextdoor App, I did get to visit a neighboring hood to rightfully carve some Hostas out of a lady’s front yard. Now I’m waiting for the cold weather to pass so I can plant them in my backyard. Maybe by tomorrow!
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Groovy. I could be the lady people get the hostas from. Bad grammar, too. My husband’s aunt used to share a lot of her garden with me, but she up and moved half as far from me as you are!
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I can totally see you as a Groovy Hosta Lady. I hope you have a tie-dyed shirt handy for the occasional hosta-based get together?
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Thanks! I do not. I don’t even know who I would be in tie-dye. I’d look like Jules & Vincent after the hose scene in Pulp Fiction…
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Happy Friday to you as well. We live close to a preserve filled with critters who like to eat small dogs and cats and so you’ll be more likely to see a deer in our backyard than one of our neighbor’s pets. I wish it weren’t so but t’is!
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Thanks! Critters need preservation all the same.
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So I think its’ super cute that your dog had a play date! They look like they’re having a blast! I’m kinda jealous that I don’t have play dates anymore. You are spot on about yards these days, we are much more possessive of them now. My husband hates when the local kids play nerf ball on his front grass but when we were kids we ran the gamut of the back yards from one end of the block to the other. However, we were always respectful of garden beds and private possessions. Maybe that’s the difference, kids aren’t taught that one small rule. We also have neighbors we know (Walt and Laura Rae across the street and Bill and Ann next door with whom we exchange Christmas cookies and borrow tools), neighbors we sort of know (Porch man across the street that waves when we come and go and who lives with his son and daughter-in-law) and those neighbors we can live with out (lady and her son next door that practice the drums late at night and whose landscapers invade my driveway every week leaving weeds and trash). I guess some stuff applies no matter where you live!! 🙂
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Lots of us can relate to your post. Particularly the way people refer to a house, still using the name of the former owner. For newcomers it is sometimes puzzling, but quite normal. I grew up with parents who taught me to respect boundaries, but was lucky to live in the country with enough wild space to run and bike. Love to see the dogs play and share the same space. My passed away Lab used to visit each of our neighbors every day, going from one yard to another to get a treat. I had no idea until one of them mentionned not having seen her one day 🙂
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That’s so cute! I have a friend whose dog goes to the older couples’ house next door when his people entertain. He can’t take the noise, lol!
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I think you’ve started something here, Joey! Everyone is having fun discussing their neighbors. I’ve enjoyed reading the comments, and your super fun post. Those puppies are sure having a good time frolicking out there running around. I think I want to make a post about our neighbors now. When I do, I’ll give you a ping back! 🙂 Happy weekend!
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Groovy! Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
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We know the names of the few neighbors directly in front/beside of us, but that’s about it. There was Crazy Dog Lady from a few houses down, but she moved out. She earned her name by going door-to-door and spreading gossip about other people’s dogs. At 10:30 at night. She was also caught howling at another neighbor’s dog once. She earned her name.
I wouldn’t want other people in my yard, either. It’s like, kids/people have to be taught some boundaries and when they aren’t, that traipsing through the yard stuff turns into going into your garage and getting stuff off your porch, or that has been our experience. For the record, I don’t want anyone’s dog in my yard, either, though, but I’m less inclined to be annoyed over it.
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It’s just a preference, I suppose. I don’t know that I ever had this ‘yard’ issue before. Seem to have hedges and stuff…
I am so sorry you have Crazy Dog Lady for a neighbor
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Pingback: Writing Links…5/14/18 – Where Genres Collide
Thanks, Traci!
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Pingback: Welcome to the Neighborhood | teleportingweena
I could watch dogs play all day. It’s my favorite spectator sport. Unfortunately, our old coon hound, Doodle, does not like other dogs and only tolerates her older step sister who is feeble and submissive. When other dogs walk by the house, Doodle goes crazy with her loud mouth baying. So be thankful you have friendly dog play to watch. 🙂
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I do enjoy that about my dog 😀
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I might be the antisocial neighbor with the dog. Or the Hermit Lady.
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I have only seen Hermit Lady a handful of times in 4+ years.
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This is very thought-provoking. I’ve been having a situation where the kids who are actually teens ride their non-car vehicles up and down my driveway when I’m not home. They leave trash or sometimes go off the driveway and over a plant. I can’t figure out how they think it’s ok. Then again I can’t think why my driveway should go to waste when I’m not home.
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Thanks. I get that. I don’t mind them in the drive, but muckin up the plants? NO. Not okay.
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Exactly!
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Are you a neighbour friendly person? Well, honestly I’m not. My brother is. So, while the entire neighbourhood knows him, the entire neighbourhood knows me only because of him. I moved to my current home a decade ago and I can count the number of people at my fingertips who know my name. Once the security guard of my building didn’t allow me to enter my own apartment because he never saw me in months. I think there are pros and cons to it. The drawback is that when you need help there’s no one around (which is fine by me because I love to be self-prepared for my family). The benefit is that you reflect this don’t-mess-with-me attitude that no one really wants to take on you. What do you think?
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I think it’s good to know the general patterns of one’s neighbors, from a safety standpoint. Beyond that, NO, I am not a friendly neighbor person. I like to think if I was really in a bind some of these people would do their best to help me, as they do seem a kindly bunch, and I’d do the same for them — but like you, I’m more a self-reliant person.
I have had some wonderful neighbors who became friends over the years, that was a great blessing. Also, rare.
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Ahhh, such fun. ❤ Our yard is not big enough to run. But you're always welcome and Sadie too.
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Nice we can count on you 🙂 I bet our dogs would love to roll in the sunlight together!
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In most parts of South Africa you won’t find kids running in the other people’s yards. That’s because they’re all surrounded by high fences topped with barbed wire. Some are even electrified! When I was a kid it wasn’t like this at all and kids had freedom. But now we have a crime crisis. Can’t let your kids run loose at all! Luckily where I live now crime is minimal – but there also aren’t too many kids living here. Our local school boasts 60 from age 4 to 13. Dogs on the other hand still roam freely here. We don’t own a dog but keep canine biscuits for the ones that visit from time to time 🙂
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Interesting. Seems many, if not most, warm climate places do the high fence, high shrub, gate thing. I would be in favor of that. I’d love a northern wall and an eastern shrub… But the fencing does its part pretty well elsewhere!
Our local schools now have 1000+ per graduating class, so I cannot relate to what a cooperative and pleasant (I imagine) your local school environments must be like!
I’m glad you offer treats for visiting pups! 🙂
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We know very few of our neighbors. Many in the neighborhood think that part of our land belongs to the neighborhood because it lies on the other side of creek. I feel like saying “Helloooo…why do you see us out there mowing it instead of the company that services the common areas of the neighborhood.” We did plant trees along the perimeter because people kept thinking they could pull off the road and park in our yard (thereby killing the grass with the hot undercarriage of their car). We haven’t had any wandering dogs yet. 🙂
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OH. My. WORD! Seriously? Parking and killing grass? I’d lose my mind! lol I bet the trees fixed that right up!
I must admit to traipsing and trespassing to get to creeks when I was young, too… Willfully, with knowledge. But then, my parents were civil engineers, and I was taught land things.
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Aww, doggos playing! Cute! When I was a kid my neighbor (whom I’m sure moved to the wrong neighborhood and didn’t realize he was) was the dick about his yard. We were in the cul-de-sac and there were a lot of us kids. We always played kickball. One time the ball went in his yard and he flipped out. I tried to tell him it was an accident, but you know how logic doesn’t work well on dicks.
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Same. I lived BEHIND the cul-de-sac and while six of us played back there, we had to always play in an odd shaped space because of the one neighbor who didn’t want people in his yard. (And by the by, when we were done playing there was NO indication that we’d even run through those yards. Not that it mattered, because his lawn wasn’t even as nice as ours.) He was just a dick.
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Ugh. Dicks.
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