Here in the Three Two Three
Jon and I spent the entire day yesterday helping our neighbors move their two-bedroom apartment into a storage space, a storage space on the second floor of a winding storage building with elevators operational only with 10 digit access codes. What we thought was going to be a two-hour rush of heavy wooden objects and boxes turned into an eight-hour dust and pinball machine? and why-is-this-not-in-a-box? fest.
We love our neighbors and their wonderfully insane dog who happens to be Chuck's best friend. Once, when Jon and I went out of town for the weekend they had to spell C-H-U-C-K whenever they talked about us, otherwise their dog would think Chuck was outside and he'd start doing that dog pacing thing, where the dog walks from window to window with a terribly worried wrinkle creasing his forehead, as if he's got to decide whether or not to take Grandpa off life support.
So they're gone, these neighbors, just up and gone, and it's incredibly sad. Chuck counted on at least three play sessions a day with their dog, and I counted on at least three good gossip sessions with the dog's mother, a publicist in the fashion industry who has given me delicious scoops on everyone from Ben Stiller (a total meany) to Christian Slater (a total worry wart) to Martin Sheen (who sings spiritedly! at Church on Sundays).
But they had to move, and the reason they had to move is good reason for us to move. You see, there's this neighbor, and this neighbor is an evil neighbor, and this evil neighbor once told our lovely friends that if they didn't watch out, he'd "fucking kill" their dog and cat.
This evil neighbor often used phrases like "you're going to get what's coming to you" and "watch your bitch or I'll come after her" and "if that bitch does that again I'll stick a fucking bullet in her head."
And I'm sure the evil neighbor is really a lovely man who just has a few issues with, I don't know, sanity. And maybe he just needs a hug or a really intense session of hopscotch, but if someone as large and thuggish as this evil neighbor were to threaten my dog, let alone my bitch, I wouldn't stick around and try to kill him with kindness. That motherfucker would kill me with weapons.
And it's not that I'm a coward, or that our friends are cowards either. They called the cops and they filed complaints with the proper authorities, and every law-enforcement official who heard their story said that unless the evil neighbor physically assaulted them, they couldn't do a damn thing, except live in fear and horror and ongoing hell.
And I'm not one for the ongoing hell part of living. That part really sucks. So we gave our friends what we could give them, our backs and legs and Jon's superbly anal box-arranging capabilities. And we're thinking, yeah, it's time to leave. Los Angeles isn't the safe place it used to be.
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Heather talks about public tantrums (from kids) on today's Momversation.
- RIP Louis Mortimer Armstrong: http://bit.ly/1R4tv6
- Hugs and kisses to you, too! RT: @Monkey_Tree: @dooce he probably committed suicide because he was tired of LISTENING TO YOU WHINE.
- Our fish just died. And I'm sitting here crying. And it wasn't even my fault!
1. SX70 said:
back in college when i was trying to impress some church-going girl, i did have the experience of seeing martin sheen singing spiritedly! at Church. anyway, having said all that, los angles is filled with violent people like that, but apparently not as many as vancouver, if you believe these canadians.
2. Kelly said:
Damn. I'd hate to think of the unholy rage that would be unleashed from within if anyone ever threatened my dogs.
Yep. Time to move.
3. Beerzie Boy said:
I don't much like L.A., but remember: Assholes are EVERYWHERE.
4. heather said:
My last year at the dorms, we had a flock of idiots living below us. Wild, loud parties in the middle of the week until 4am. My roommate once awoke to one of them having sex, because both the evil neighbor and her had their windows open.
My favorite, though, is when they decided to make phosphorus bombs in 20oz Coca-Cola bottles and drop them 5 stories out their window. Thankfully, they were too stupid to make them correctly, and I was staying at a friend's house.
You don't need evil neighbors.
5. Bastherself said:
I think Dooce needs to sic her war donkey on her evil neighbor. Perhaps atop the donkey is a war hamster.
6. jess said:
perhaps atop the war hamster atop the war donkey is a war frog. all three will tear the evil neighbour limb from limb, the frog, of course, eating the evil neighbour's eyes for brunch.
people who threaten other peoples pets are scum. but as beerzie boy said, assholes are everywhere. unfortunately.
7. Heather #2 said:
And, just what do you want the war hamster to do???
8. Mark said:
"On the internet, nobody knows you're an asshole." No, wait, that's not it...
9. Krotchbat said:
Even if you're leaving that gold-plated turd called LA, you should get that guy before you leave. Anonymously, of course. I'm thinking of the "adolescent" joke of ringing his doorbell, to which he answers, and finds a bag of C-H-U-C-K dogshit on fire, on which he will stomp out and be covered in feces. Or maybe pull some Amelie shenanigans and leave the psycho letters signed sincerely by the neighbors' dog who just left. I dunno, sometimes you have to enact karma on your own.
10. ALLISONIC said:
I agree with the move.
And tonight on FM Nation:
Episode 107 - Salt Lake City, UT
4 High School graduates and friends go out for one of their last nights before leaving for college, 3 girlfriends go to a Warrant show at the local bowling alley, and a devout Mormon guy gets up his nerve to ask a girl he likes if she'd go to the upcoming Cher concert with him.
11. the propagandist said:
oh yeah. like there aren't assholes in utah.
they just call them "bishops" there. and they're probably better armed.
just move up to the northeast (L.A., that is). we're armed AND nice up here.
12. Ex-liontamer said:
I can relate to the annoying wa some folks prepare a move. Once I was moving friends out of their apartment. I was literally standing over them waiting to be handed a freshly-loaded hefty bag full of random crap. BIG FUN! As far as the L.A. thing, I reckon it's not fun anymore if the "local color" starts to fade. Sic Semper Asshous!
13. ismat said:
I can see Martin Sheen singing, but Ben is a total meany? Really?
14. deadking said:
so your going to let a jerk run you off??
excuses,excuses
15. April said:
Synchronicity. I just moved this weekend (and still) from the seven six zero to the seven one four, and while I didn't have unboxed pinball machines, I did have unboxed computer monitors. Yes, plural. Both places were second-story, with no elevator, so don't complain. By the way, you should really use those newly grown eyebrows on the evil neighbor. Seriously.
16. Bastherself said:
Well Heather #2, I think the War Donkey would step on evil neighbor's toes one by one starting with the little ones. And he would turn around and using his back legs, kick the jack ass down.
Then the war hamster would jump down and nibble all the hair of his head.
Followed by the war frog depositing fly gunk on his forehead.
How's that evil neighbor who threatens animals.
17. dooce said:
ismat: Ben is really a total meany, so meany in fact that he made my publicist friend's other publicist friend totally cry on the telephone. and then he told her to ìjust stop crying already.î it totally made me sad, like when i found out there really wasn't a tooth fairy.
18. ShamFrancisco? said:
People can be arrested for verbal threats in San Francisco--and I think that's a fuckin great thing! Another reason SF kicks LA's stoopid ass.
19. Anna said:
I would not be able to tolerate someone threatening the life of my dog, and I don't blame your neighbors for moving. That is most definately "time to move."
20. Sarah B. said:
Martin Sheen was in town recently and was just mean, cruel even, to my friend Tony, the nicest person ever, who was taping him for some charity event. Also, he has really whistly false teeth.
21. ismat said:
Sarah, that hurts. I mean, that Martin/Charlie Sheen commercial is just damn funny. But I think I remember Tony. And maybe Ben was just having a bad day?
22. cicada said:
Dooce, I suggest that you and DJ Blurb practice the ritual spelling-of-names thing (substitute name of toy, candy, and so on, ad nauseum). When that baby you're wanting gets a little older, you'll be so glad that you did!
23. Jerry Brito said:
First semester law student here and I was shocked to learn in torts class how little duty to protect police have toward humans, let alone dogs. One of the cases we read was about a woman who's rejected suitor stalked her and threatened that if he couldn't have her, no one would. She complained to the police plenty, but they said they couldn't do anything. And they did nothing until the guy had someone throw lye in her face when she got engaged to someone else. She sued the cops and the court found, like plenty of other courts have done, that the cops werenít liable. So, yeah, moving was their best option.
24. Paul Gutman said:
To Jerry et Dooce...
There is a tort here, called intentional infliction of emotional distress, but it's only an action at civil law, not at criminal. So no, there's nothing the cops can do, but if you had the resources, you might be able to bring a law suit.
That said, it's over a year since torts for me, so I may be missing some material element here.
So just light EN on fire.
25. Naaman said:
That whole "why-is-this-not-in-a-box" thing is unbelievably annoying. We helped move a friend that had stacks -- like, three feet tall -- of paper not in boxes.
26. little miss s said:
vancouver violent? i don't think so...11,000 deaths by handguns in the US...261 in Canada for the same year. yup we're pretty peace-lovin' folks up here...except when Axl doesn't show up for a concert.
27. joe said:
move, but don't leave la =)
28. Robyn said:
I think moving away is the safest option. That's crazy that the cops can't do anything about threats. Even if you have concrete evidence? The system forces us to take the law into our own hands.
29. Keith said:
Friend of a friend is Ben Stiller's assistant, and it's been told to me many times that Ben is a screamer. Things need to be just so with Ben, or else. I've also heard that the Dawson's kids all vehemently hate each other, Cameron Diaz has a bad acne problem in real life, and I heard a nasty tale about how Keanu Reeves got his big break, but it'd be a little gauche of me to just drop it in the midst of your comments section.
30. ME said:
Wait, Jon has an anal box? what the..! Oh, anal box arranging capabilities. Sorry, I have a short attention span and didn't read everything. My bad.
31. Sarah B. said:
Keith, didn't you hear? Gauche is the new black. Spill!
32. Spike said:
Talk to Sham Francisco -- he may be able to arrange for you to borrow some killer dogs, then buy the evil neighbor some nice musk cologne as a peace offering, but make sure you yell, "Who let the dogs out!"
33. rzan said:
Wow, that sucks ass.
We had a neighbor like that when I was a kid. He used to set his dogs on us kids! Just because we were trespassing on his garbage heap.(it was a really cool garbage heap, all overgrown with blackberries and full of nifty old junk like a sleigh, ancient bottles and shotgun shells). He hated us so bad he even aimed his shotgun at us and fired into the trees where we were hiding. I can only hope he was jest tryin' ta put the fear of gawd into us...
34. Ching said:
LA hasn't been safe since Armstrong walked on the moon.. Your "evil neighbor" dude reminds me of Jack Nicholas in As Good As It Gets, only worse ~ because he's not pretending.
35. Ching (again) said:
TO KEITH: Do you write for a tabloid or something? You've got juicy stuff. It's amazing different celebs can be from their true selves.. Cameron Diaz, an acne problem? Kudos to her makeup people. I couldn't tell at all. BTW, this site is not for kids (or so says the tagline) ~ feel free to dish the dirt. That is, if the site-owner doesn't mind.
36. jess said:
the war hamster would hold the war frog steady. you know, so he wouldn't slip and bite off the evil neighbour's nose instead.
37. dclay said:
a) I think your neighbor is probably horrible.
b) I think you are trying to justify moving to Utah by any means necessary.
c) I wish I could post my problems on my Web site
d) I would love to have hundreds (?) of people read it and try and help.
Sleep tight. I've got your back.
38. d-girls must die said:
at least your neighbor isn't a d-girl along with all his friends who shriek like... d-girls.
39. Glen said:
Clay, what's stopping you from posting your problems on your website?
Ching, I think you have Jack Nicholas / Jack Nicholson confusion.
Dooce, I hope your ex-neighbors cooked you a lovely dinner or at least took you out to thank you for a hard day's work.
40. matty said:
does anyone else remember when 323 wasn't an area code? hell i remember when we had to switch from 213 to 818, what a big deal THAT was. now ther're a million area codes out there. it's no better now i'm in new york, but yeesh, with the area codes already.
41. KROTCHBAT said:
Dooce - there's no tooth fairy!?!?!
42. ismat said:
I'm with Sarah. Keith, bring on the dirty business with Keanu. Inquiring minds want to know.
43. statia said:
I worry about my dog getting hurt more than me. No one could fathom the sheer rage that would come from my 5'3" 112lb body if they were to hurt my dog. Think Tony Soprano killing Ralphie with his bare hands.
44. Sabina said:
Kick his ass dooce, wif ya butter knife.
45. Kerry said:
Before you guys leave, I think you should unleash some payback on your evil neighbor, not just for you, but for your cool neighbors as well. You should start be leaving human shit in a Taco Bell cup (because I seriously can't think of anything more unsettling than that) on your evil neighbor's front porch with cryptic, threatening notes, telling of his own demise and letting him know that the time for karmic retribution has come. Write the notes in red ink on top of newspaper clippings about people that have died in bizarre ways, like that guy who died in a vat of chocolate.
Meanwhile, raise up a few ant farms, preferably those big fat gross ants . Then trim his windows, doors, and the bottom lining of his house with honey, and release all the ants. Oh, and don't forget to spread rumours about him to all the neighborhood kids, especially the bullies, so that they will throw rocks at him everytime they see him.
46. Vera said:
"Another reason SF kicks LA's stoopid ass."
Oh my God? I never thought about it that way before. Really.
47. Joshie said:
meow
48. one for one said:
Read Civil Harassment Order. You can, by law make him move.
http://www.break-the-cycle.org/
restraingcansandcants.htm
49. Cindi said:
Last night's FM nation made me cringe with embarassment for living in SLC. Dooce, you must come help me spice things up a bit! SLC is THAT bad...is it?
50. Zeek said:
I'd LOVE to read all about Kerry's karmic retribution plan in action - I think it would be a wonderful exercise in vicarious living.
I actually had a room mate once who killed my other roommate's cat.
Yes, psychopaths are allowed to walk freely everywhere. It's a scary life. Cut your losses and move.
51. exsouthern babtist said:
Sounds like you need a Civil Harassment order dooce.
52. timbo said:
When I lived in West Hollywood in the early 80's I had a next door neighbor who slept on a cot in his backyard wearing his army fatigues. He also hung dolls from his clothesline using nooses and would bullwhip them until their clothes came off and then he would very carefully dress them and do it all again. He would put lighter fluid on the meat when he was grilling. I was pretty wary around him, but he wasn't the reason I moved. I just hated Southern California.
53. arnold said:
After reading about some of these neighbors from hell, I feel a little protected in the area I live in. The worst I have to deal with is the annoying guy next door who keeps leaving me notes to cut my tree back.
Where the heck are you people seeing all these freaks?!
54. Cheekychk said:
whoah...today's surfing led (in order) from dooce to our very own house8 weblog to textism.com to a link in textism's comments...
http://dogeatdog.diaryland.com/index.html
Deja vu?
55. bucci said:
My dog Max, aka the Silver Hammer just died a month or so ago. He was 13 years, lumpy, nearly blind, just about deaf, had only 1 visible tooth, and stinky. Yes, but I loved him, loved him, loved him. And that night he wandered off into the rain I looked for him with a flash-light in bean field and never found him. And looked the next morning and the next day. But dammit, when a dog has to go off and die like that, the best thing is to have a nice big bean field of a few hundred acres or so to do it in. And if I ever thought my dog was at risk from a person, I reckon I'd do all sorts of things to prevent the harm. I wouldn't even leave Max with my Mom for the weekend. So, do what you need to do for your sweet pup. And everyone raise a glass to the Silver Hammer.
56. newgirl said:
First, many psycho pieces of worthless human flesh have threatened my animals, and one actually carried out the act. None of these were in LA, where I have lived for 16 years. In fact, they have all been nice little family towns with low populations and lots of "values."
Second, don't forget this is LA. There are people, I'm not saying that I know exactly who they are, who will gladly make a total scumbag like that really sorry that such a thing was ever mentioned.
I'm just sayin.
You are right about the average cost of a backyard though. Ouch.
57. Anita said:
Yeah? Well my mother made several death threats to my dog and what do ya know, she actually killed the baby on Tuesday.
58. The Noticer said:
Hey! There used to be another post here! History has been revised!!
59. pixelkitty said:
where is the post about the muthafucker who stole your site?
I ranted about it here: http://pixelkitty.net/archives/2002_11.php#000074
60. dobbins said:
pixelkitty's still on the warpath. i'm thinking dooce figured to let it go. the brutal rants are all gone.
61. Rex said:
What happened to the 'motherfucker who stole my design' post?
62. Heather #2 said:
No matter how wrong it is to steal a site design, maybe it's not worth fighting about it with someone who has cancer. I can imagine being too drained to come up with your own sh**. Dooce, you have a great site design and lots of lovely people visiting you daily - a cancer patient might want the same? Possibly just blog jealousy? Dooce, you were right to change the subject.
63. timbo said:
Methinks that Pixelkitty stole the idea of ranting about something they never took the time to really look into.
64. Manunderstress said:
When I was a little we had a dog named Busch (yes, my dad named our dog after the infamous swill of beer) and a whacked gun-toting Lynrd Skynrd style neighbor threatened to shoot him, much the same as your evil neighbor. Thinly veiled aggression as compensation for erectile disfunction, or something of the sort. But Dad called his bluff, and the cops, we kept busch under closer surveillence, and nothing ever happened. But there's always a fine line in calling a man's bluff. Play more poker and maybe you'll be able to tell.