The story with the neighbors continues; it’s just too good :)

I wrote that the neighbors had found out I reported them to the Local Police; I think it didn't even take a week before they knew. But that isn't the problem.

About a week after the report, I wrote another email to the Local Police regarding the fact that the neighbors found out who reported them, and that normally, this shouldn't have happened. In the email, I asked how this issue could be resolved or if we should proceed to court - though I wasn't actually planning to proceed; I was just curious about what happened and how the neighbors found out.

Today, I received an email from the Local Police stating that they conducted an investigation to see what happened and how the neighbors found out who reported them. When I saw the email, I was surprised and didn't immediately realize what it was about. While reading it, I found out and remembered what I had written to them.

Thus, I learned how my neighbors found out, and I wasn't expecting this information at all. It didn't even cross my mind. Initially, I thought one of the neighbors had a friend or a relative at the Local Police and that's how they found out. That wasn't the case at all.

The person who told the neighbors was my mother - I was stunned when I read the email.

I never expected her to do such a thing, for my mother to tell the neighbors who reported them to the Local Police.

So, the saying in the title is very true, especially in my country - as for other countries, I can't say anything.

It all started with an older story, then a few newer ones. Several stories piled up until the cup finally overflowed.

Story 1

I don't remember exactly which year this happened, but here's how it went: there was a stretch of a few rainy days, in the middle of summer. On my street, when it rains hard for long enough, the street practically turns into a river - you could almost row a boat down it.

On a normal rainy day, puddles form, and one always forms right in front of my neighbor's house. An even bigger one forms in front of mine - but this story is about the neighbors, not about me.

One day I came home, and to avoid driving against traffic (since I have to park in front of my house anyway), I drove slowly along the sidewalk, straight through that small puddle. A small puddle, but one that splashed the neighbor's house fairly hard whenever cars drove through it.

The neighbor was standing at his gate when I drove through the puddle, but I didn't splash him or his house, because I drove very slowly to avoid that. I stopped the car, and before I'd even fully gotten out, he started in on me - why was I driving through the puddle, I was splashing his house, his whole house was soaked, and so on.

Of course I got angry and started shouting back, asking him why he was picking on me, that I hadn't splashed his house, and that I'd driven through slowly. The story ended there - I didn't stick around to talk, I just went inside.

Story 2

Two years ago, or maybe last year, again in summer (since it always happens in summer), there was a stretch of two weeks or more with temperatures of 35-38 degrees Celsius. During the day I kept the windows and doors shut so the heat wouldn't get in, and closed the curtains and blinds so the house wouldn't heat up too much.

In the evening I'd open everything up to cool the house down, but during that period I couldn't open anything for two or three hours, because there was smoke every evening. I don't know who was burning what, since I never saw anyone, but the smoke was quite strong.

I thought I was going to lose my mind, that's how much it got to me. On top of that, some days also brought the smell of chickens and rabbits from the neighbors.

Story 3

Last year I bought a garden gazebo and set it up on my terrace, not in the yard. Even though I live in a house, I'm on the upper floor and have a fairly large terrace, so I put the gazebo there. I know that's not really how it's done, but that's what I did, just to get a bit of shade during the day.

Whenever it was windy or a storm was coming, I'd tie the gazebo down and weight its legs so it wouldn't blow away or get damaged. Unfortunately, one afternoon I forgot and left the house. Only my parents were home, but they were downstairs, on the ground floor, where they live.

In the evening, once it was already dark outside, my mother called to tell me to come home, because the gazebo had ended up almost entirely in the neighbors' yard. While I was gone, a strong wind had picked it up; in the backyard there's a large cherry tree, almost as tall as the house. The gazebo flew into the tree and from there into the neighbor's yard - the same neighbor from the puddle story and the rabbit-smell story.

I rushed home. In the yard were my father, that neighbor, and another neighbor from across the street, all trying to bring the gazebo back over. So far so good - I quickly assessed the situation and, at first, wanted to just tie the gazebo down and bring it back the next day. The neighbor insisted it had to be moved right then, since he didn't want it sitting there, right over the rabbit hutch.

At one point, the neighbor grabbed a pipe and tried to push the gazebo (I don't know where to), but instead tore its fabric cover. When I saw what he'd done, I got furious, started shouting, and pulled the gazebo back into our yard - but by then it was completely wrecked. The cover was torn beyond repair (it wasn't in great shape anyway), and the frame's supports and other metal parts were bent.

Story 4

At some point over the years - I don't remember exactly when it started - the smell story began. First it was the smell of chickens, from a neighbor who lives two houses down from me. He never asked me whether the smell bothered me, and I don't know if he asked anyone else either. It's true the smell is there every evening, but some days it's much stronger.

Later, the neighbor right next to me started keeping rabbits too. An equally unpleasant smell, and much closer this time.

In the End

I had no issue with the neighbors, if it hadn't been for the puddle story, the gazebo story, and the smoke story. All of it piled up, and I couldn't take the bad smells anymore, or the fact that I couldn't air out my house. That's how I ended up reporting my neighbors to the Local Police.

The neighbors I reported to the Local Police found out what I did. Normally they shouldn't find out, but that's what happens when you have friends at the Local Police.

I don't know if I could do anything against the Local Police because I don't know all the laws, but I'm not going to complicate things for myself either. I don't care that the neighbors found out.

I'm tired of being the one who loses out just so I don't upset others - others like neighbors, colleagues, and so on. It's time I thought about my own wellbeing and not about everyone else's.

For a long time I said nothing so as not to upset anyone and to be a good guy. But I'd rather be the black sheep and be doing well.

Now I can open the window and air out the house, because there's no bad smell anymore.

I start this blog perhaps with a pessimistic note, with a hint of malice, at least in the eyes of many. Sunday evening, I filed a complaint with the Local Police and reported two neighbors.

The story goes like this:

Neighbor 1 lives next to me and raises rabbits in his yard. Neighbor 2 lives further away but has a small chicken farm - a small business, because he sells the chickens. The first neighbor does not sell anything.

There are many days when, in the evening, it smells terrible from both the rabbits and the chickens. You cannot open a window to air out the house or cool it down during the summer because, as I mentioned, it smells terrible outside, and the odor comes inside.

For a long time, I said nothing, and neither did any of the other neighbors. Because that is how we are - we stay silent and endure instead of doing something. The law does not allow raising livestock in residential areas, nor does it permit disturbing neighbors with foul odors.

I have had two other issues with Neighbor 1, which I might write about in other posts. But I have grown tired of these smells almost every evening. So I filed a complaint with the Local Police - I do not know what the Local Police did because I was not home when they came; I only know that they visited both neighbors.

I know that, in the eyes of many, I did not do the right thing and that I was unkind to my neighbors, but I could no longer tolerate the smell. Plus, I will behave the same way people behave toward me. Indeed, Neighbor 2 is a good man, and maybe I should give him a break - but the smell is unbearable.