Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Hola

If the scummiest of white people are "white trash," what do you call the hispanic version? And don't say "hispanic" because I've heard that one. For now, I'll just call them my neighbors.

I'm not sure how we ended up in this neighborhood. I mean, ultimately, I know how it happened. The realtor showed us the house, we saw the potential, didn't see the problems and made an offer. But I'd like to believe we were guided here, because we prayed for a house and so many things pointed to this one.

But I'm not sure what we're doing here. If it was to teach us a lesson in tolerance, the plan is backfiring horribly. If anything, I think I become more racist or generally thinking more and more poorly of poor people and hispanic people. Yes, we live in an impoverished neighborhood. Houses on this block are only selling for half a million.

This week, my neighbors are using the excuse of indepdendence day as a reason to break the law. Of course, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is useless USELESS U-S-E-L-E-S-S!!! I swear, the next time I call them and they say they're going to send someone out, I'm going to ask them to tell me what day it will be on so that I can write it on my calendar. The only saving grace is that apparently Duarte finally banned fireworks in its entire city so there isn't a fireworks stand four blocks from here in the Target parking lot this year. So there have been far less fireworks than last year, but still, it's pretty frustrating.

My dog has barely eaten in days, the firecrackers seem to scare her. And these are the big suckers. One of these goes off and you can feel it. Car alarms begin to sound. Really insane.

The last time I called them to report the firecrackers, they actually called me back. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office could not find our street. She said the map was old, but this house was built in 1948. (For that matter, why does the LASO have old maps?)

I'm going to call 1-800-A-DEPUTY and ask if I can become a deputy and just be assigned to this street. Because no one else is patrolling it now.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't help you with neighbor issues. I'm ready to hurl a brick at my next door neighbor's toddler. I know... I know... brick at child=bad. What I'd really like to do is call Social Services on the kid's parents. Growing up in Pomona, a house full of kids (essentially a day care center for all the neighbor kids) isn't a new concept for me. But these kids scream... and these aren't happy screams. Happy, laughing kids make me feel good. Unhappy, screaming kids right outside my bedroom window make me feel no so good. I practice tolerance but there are limits. The mother's idea of parenting is to repeatedly say "shhh," despite the fact it NEVER works with these kids. Now, I've taken to shouting "shut up" at the top of my lungs when the kids get too out of control, and I don't like yelling at kids, but they hear me and (shock) very often do shut up. If only their mom tried once in a while.

Nice redesign on the blog, by the by.

James said...

This old thing? I just picked a new template. Couldn't remember what all links I had before so I added the ones that I want to visit more regularly myself.

Yeah, I think the ones setting off the dynamite last night are running an illegal daycare.

Our problem is that we're in unincorporated land so we're at the mercy of the sherrif in Temple City!!!

And by now, I'm sure they've got our phone number listed as someone who calls too often. They never come out here anymore.

Only twice have I seen them be effective. Once to break up about a graduation party of more then 300 and once when the renters next door (now evicted) were threatening one another with bodily harm. Though, to be fair, the sherrifs handed it off to the Monrovia Police Department who got here real quick.

But the time neighbors hired a DJ when Rachel was four days old and played music so loud for their tween's party for four hours? They never came, said they were too busy with a death and an accident on the freeway. I'm sorry, but isn't that what coroners and the CHP are for?

LASO sucks.

James said...

I can't spell sheriff. But, looking at Google, so can't many others.

Funny looking word.

Unknown said...

I'm actually OK with party noises, provided they're limited to once or twice a month (though with Rachel I can imagine your frustration). What gets me is the everyday rudeness of people, like revving a motorcycle engine at 6am, or a parent laughing while their child destroys the bushes in someone else's yard. A party is something that you know will end, but a rude neighbor is another story.

James said...

We're kind of assuming that eventually someone will kill someone else, or at the very least, a firecracker will maim someone severely. It won't necessarily solve the rude neighbor problem, but we figure it's just a matter of time.

I think there ought to be a law that any house that's rented should have a sign in the front lawn stating as much and including the name and number and address of the owner on it. And I think this law should go into effect the day after we sell our house.

James said...

We're kind of assuming that eventually someone will kill someone else, or at the very least, a firecracker will maim someone severely. It won't necessarily solve the rude neighbor problem, but we figure it's just a matter of time.

I think there ought to be a law that any house that's rented should have a sign in the front lawn stating as much and including the name and number and address of the owner on it. And I think this law should go into effect the day after we sell our house.