The bushy-headed stranger is my neighbor.

Okaaaay. Major developments:

I call Gossip to put my plan into action. Begin waiting for the trickle down....

Start hauling the trash and recycling out.

Espy Mr. Neighborlady hauling their trash out.

Take a deep breath and head on over.

Explain the situation.

Mr. Neighborlady had visited a used car lot today to search out a similar make/model/color of car for photographing so he could provide it to the police. I confirm that Francois drives a similar car.

Blahblahblah "thanks for keeping an eye out" blahblahblah "don't worry about Francois" blahblahblah.

Head home.

Bachelor #1, who lives next door to me, is out working in his garage. He calls out <smirking> "Out making new friends?"

I explain what just transpired. Bachelor #1 is my friend.

Bachelor #1, who is like Romanian or something, says "I'm not surprised. I'm not "their kind" either it seems."

WTF!?

These people are living on the wrong block.

Good gawd!

Let me get this straight: these people moved in to an established neighbourhood and are now trying to take over? And they're renters, right? Maybe your pot-luck should exclude them. The rest of you can get together and organize torches and pitchforks and drive THEM out.

Okay, I know that's not helpful -- but it was the first thing to come to mind!

ooh boy, that sounds bad

when we (the lady Diane and meself) bought our current house there was a youngish family living here with a 14 yr old son. After we bought the house and were waiting for closing the son traversed the neighborhood warning everyone that "Hippies were moving in." We got some strange greetings when moving in but are now well settled and seem to be friends with everyone (even the gabachos up the street, they carpeted their garage and vacuum it every weekend for their white Caddy Deville).

Boomer, I'm afraid that your new neighbors don't sound as though they would attend a neighborhood get-together. Sounds as though they'd rather watch it from behind their curtains.

I've posted a few photos of Mo's neighborhood gang. Anyone who has seen those photos knows that my neighborhood is amazingly international. Anyone uncomfortable with that won't last long here.

I don't want to make any assumptions about these people. I'm going to hope everything is just a big misuderstanding.

I can see that's a possibility... but what turned me into ready-to-judge was that neighborlady didn't listen to you. How dare...

I can't remember, is that a cul de sac street?

No, it isn't a cul de sac but it is a street that goes nowhere. It is carved out of a park block -- hard to explain. The real block is about three square blocks and our street is carved out of one edge. Nobody really drives down our street except the people who live on the street.

I think your neighborlady is a bit shot upstairs, but I have to say that I myself came into THIS neighborhood with that same thought.

I looked around and saw a bunch of brown people with baggy pants and loud cars and thought ' f---- it all, I need a gun'

I did not talk to anyone.
I did not make any extensions, even to my neighbors for welcome..


I know now that my neighbors to the left of us have a 1 year old son. And daddy works nights as a bar tender, mom works days as a receptionist. They love each other dearly, but never see each other. It strains their marriage.

Below them is a husband and wife too with a little baby.
He suffered a head trauma in a car accident and now has an IQ of around 100. Has to take small paying jobs because he can not keep up and his wife stays home to keep them from having to pay day care.

Across the way is a single father of 3. He is one of the owners of the horrible loud cars.. But.. he is a really nice guy



I guess my long winded point is that she may not be USED to a mixed neighborhood and is judging by cover alone...

like I did...

Mine is a similar situation. Well, once in a while someone leaves business cards, but mostly it is us'n who live here that drive here. I asked because I'm trying to understand the picture and fathom her reasoning. Could be she's a racist freak. Could be she'd had some experience that frightened her about real child snatching creeps. Bachelor #1's reaction adds to my fear that it's a situation of the former, not the latter.

Well, I'm from Venice, it's hard to surprise me now - that people and their covers (good word) are not so often immediately figureoutable. Just remembering Tim nextdoor, full body (well, sorta full) body tattoos and giant pit bull guarding the door. Tim was really a human lamb, and so was the dog. But, years before I was from Venice, I was from some of the great parts of town, in terms of crimefreeness - I remember driving from my place in Westwood, which is the UCLA area, to where a few of my friends lived, Marina del Rey, through an area I was afraid of (hilarious to me now, a road fairly close to the ocean) with my window rolled all the way up in, if not in straight out fear, in advanced timorousness.

I'm guessing that Neighborlady is trying to establish herself as an alert, watchful mother (?) who has the best interests of all the children at heart.

Unfortunately she's tripping over her prejudices and preassumptions. Be prepared for a slow, intensive summer of diversity education.

She may be a bigot, but she doesn't have to stay a bigot.