i’ll be waiting

Our aging neighbour finally bit the bullet, sold her house for what is was actually worth and snuck off early on a Sunday morning for points West without really saying goodbye to any of us on the street that she had gossiped with for so many years. So it goes: people are funny that way. We get used to their little idiosyncrasies, make small talk, put up with their barking dogs and annoying gardeners and for the most part, just live and let live as long as they don’t get too intrusive.

The couple that took over the bungalow look much like any other twenty-something, newly married couple just starting out. On their first day of possession, all the lights were on for what must have been a closer inspection of the premises: the previous owner favoured a more ecologically conscious (or just plain cheap) habit of only illuminating the room she was in so it was odd to see the little house lit up and taking on a new life. Day 2 the contents of what had been left behind spilled out into the yard – couches, chairs, an old tv and stand, a perfectly good desk and almost new filing cabinets, a mattress, box spring, carpet and garbage bags filled with who knows what.  For some reason we expected the van that pulled up to take it all away, perhaps to charity, a resource centre, the Sally Ann, church, anywhere that it might do some good and make life a little easier at this particularly stressful holiday time of year. But the two healthy, fit young men milling around the trailer didn’t dispose of it in a civically responsible manner. They did go to a lot of effort to pile it in the driveways of other neighbours so that they could park their own two cars without any obstruction. They didn’t even ask. Not a great way to make friends and influence people.

Big fat snowflakes started to fall around 10 pm onto the sad pile of furniture left in the street. We had hoped the roving pickers would make it to our neighbourhood to collect their free booty but they must all have been tucked in their own houses avoiding the cold snap because this morning the piles were still there. Until the garbage trucks arrived and ate everything.

That is when the Big 5 Challenge lost it. Completely disgusted and peeved beyond belief that in this day and age when everyone blathers on about doing the right thing, being ecologically friendly, passing it forward and helping out the less fortunate, the new residents actions were proving that some people still didn’t get it. We don’t feel “right neighbourly”  today, rather we can empathize more with the Clampetts  and would love to greet them at the door with a shotgun filled with salt and pepper and a baying bloodhound….

“When do you get annoyed?” – on the bus or in the car, up close and personal, way too far, by too much noise or too much talk, by things that stick on shoes when out for a walk… We would love to know when you get your knickers in a twist.

For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?

1.  I will post some commentary such as the above on one of the five Ws (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN or WHY and sometimes HOW) and then ask you to respond on the same.
2. Your point of view on the current week’s challenge can take any form: a reply in the comment box, in a new post with a quote, a motto or saying, an essay, poem or opinion of yours or attributed to someone else, a piece of music, a song, a video, a work of art, photograph, graffiti, drawing or scribble – but it has to be about the topic!
3. Challenge yourself to dig deep for an answer.
4. The Challenge will be open for 14 days (there will be a reminder post at the 7 day mark) after which I will post another.
5. ENJOY, have FUN and TELL your friends and fellow bloggers.

SO – Create your Big 5 Challenge post

1. Then add a link to your blog in my comment box.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your post, title your blog post “The Big 5 Challenge” and add the same as a tag.
3. If you would like your reader to see what others are presenting for the same challenge, add a link to the “Big 5” challenge on your own blog.
4. Feel free to pick up your badge on The Big 5 Challenge page.
5. Remember to Follow to get your weekly (hopefully) reminders.