Love Thy Neighbor

An apartment is a new thing for my family and I.  It takes some getting used to.  Something we've come to learn.

No one likes a noisy neighbor and with a 22 month old son it's difficult to be quiet in my house hold all the time.  Add to that his three nephews come over and we can be the elephant in the room, well, in the next room.

We live on the third floor and yesterday around 4pm my wife and I are getting the boys ready to head to the pool when a loud banging noise comes from the floor, "Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

This isn't the first time this happened, but it sure was the last time it happened without a word to the wise being put in to the perpetrator.

I immediately grabbed my shoes and headed down the stairs where my neighbor that lives directly below me is headed towards the stairs to walk his dog.  Obviously this guy thought he was going to bang on the ceiling and try to get out of there in case I came to say something.

I bellowed, "Hey, Are you banging on your ceiling up to me?"  With a stunned, about to defecate in his pants look he stammers, "Uhh, uhh, yes."  To which I replied, "Do NOT bang on the ceiling towards us.  Be a man and come let me know if we are being too loud.  We have four boys up there right now."

He then says, "You have them over every day until 1am?"  Now obviously I don't stay awake until 1am every night, especially being loud, I'm too old, have a family and a career.  I replied, "I have a 22 month old so obviously if he can sleep we are not loud every night until 1 am.  And yes we do have four boys over at our house sometimes."

Now I give him some credit for having balls to say this, "Well you should be a better father then."  In my younger days this guy would have been in the hospital at this point, but for my son and wife I stared at him and simply said, "Yea you are a real good father banging on your ceiling because of kids running around getting you angry.  Maybe you shouldn't live in an apartment."

He then turned his head and walked down the stairs.  "Yea, you would walk away," I said.  Boo ya.  Defeated him without coming to blows.

I walked back into our place, the children, my wife and I then all went down to the pool and had a lovely evening.  Misery loves company and I'm happy as can be.

Ah, neighborly love. 

One thing I learned last night is something I'll be getting my son for Chirstmans... Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Stompeez.