New Life
Miles was a rather modest fellow. He had worked hard to make ends meet all his life and he had always been a devoted spouse, father, and grandfather. After years of sacrifice, he finally decided to retire and settle down in the countryside.
After turning 65, he moved to a comfortable and quiet retirement village in the country. His property bordered a stunning nature reserve and, on top of that, he had lovely neighbors, so there wasn't really much else he could ask for. At least, not at first...
Something Odd
Miles was a friendly man and he quickly hit it off with all of his neighbors. He hadn't been there for a week and he had already exchanged phone numbers with everyone on the block. There was something about the man living in the house to his left, however, that took him by surprise.
His closest neighbor seemed to be the richest person in town, since his property was incredibly huge. At first, he figured that the man had just been lucky or he had been able to afford a vaster piece of land. However, it wasn’t long before he figured what his neighbor was really up to.
A Twinge Of Envy
To be honest, Miles felt a mixture of envy and admiration when he found out that his wealthy neighbor also owned a cherry red sports car, something he had never even been close to affording.
Even though he was curious as to how the man had managed to amass such a fortune, he decided not to give it much thought. After all, he was pretty happy with his new life in his little slice of paradise... until one fateful day.
Paranoia
As the days passed, Miles noticed there was something strange going on. For some reason, his garden seemed to grow smaller day by day, while his neighbor's property kept growing larger and larger.
Miles figured he was just being paranoid. After all, if his neighbor was the richest man in town, why on earth would he try to take advantage of everyone else? While the facts didn't quite add up, things eventually took a darker turn...
Odd Behavior
One day, Miles happened to glance past his fence and spotted his neighbor doing something rather strange. The man was deliberately pacing back and forth along the length of his property with a dissatisfied, almost grumpy look on his face.
At one point, the old man disappeared for a few minutes and then returned with a wheelbarrow full of expensive pavers. He began laying them one by one, but an instant later, he did something that left Miles puzzled.
A Bold Move
The man proceeded to lay his paving around the house. After a few hours of hard work and a lot of huffing and puffing, he had finished paving his entire backyard…
The man had paved all the way up to the old fence posts that marked the boundary between his property and the adjoining reserve. Next, he made a bold move that left Miles speechless.
Secret Uncovered
Miles watched as his neighbor shamelessly strutted across his garden all the way to the rickety boundary fence posts and started ripping them out one by one. Then, he moved them back by two feet – back into the reserve – and began pounding them in again.
Miles couldn’t believe what was happening. It wasn't until then that the truth dawned on him. Now he understood why the man had such a giant backyard! Miles knew he had to do something, though he wasn't sure exactly what.
First Warning
Just when the man was clearing the land to make some space for some more of his pavers, Miles boldly approached him. He walked up and asked him politely if he could stop whatever it was he was doing.
Having worked for the National Park Services, Miles thought that perhaps his neighbor wasn’t fully aware of the possible consequences of his negligent actions. But then, all hell broke loose.
Heated Argument
Miles had barely spoken a word before his neighbor rudely interrupted him. In a sudden outburst of anger, he began yelling at him aggressively. “You’re new here. I’ve been here ten years. Mind your own damn business!” he spat out.
Miles didn’t want any further troubles, so he left without uttering another word. The way he saw it, pressing the issue wasn’t going to get him anywhere. If only there was another way to make him understand...
What Could He Do?
Miles clenched his fists helplessly, went back to his backyard, and stared at his neighbor at a distance as he completed his paving, effectively extending his yard by an additional two feet.
But while he really didn't want to pick up a fight, was he willing to stand idly by and watch the reserve he loved get destroyed by such an obnoxious man? He must have been doing this for years… Where and when would it end? However, it suddenly dawned on him that he didn’t have to do anything. All he had to do was watch it all play out.
Waiting And Watching
For a full year, Miles just watched and waited patiently. Eventually, it was summer again and the reserve was eerily quiet. Many of the park’s residents had traveled north for their summer holiday – including his rude neighbor.
Something in Miles' guts told him that karma would come knocking at his neighbor's door. And, sure enough, it did. Can you guess what happened?
Neighbor In Trouble
One bright morning, Miles was sitting on his porch when the county came to check on the reserve. And when they saw Miles’ neighbor’s backyard, they were naturally taken by surprise.
Miles watched as the authorities paced back and forth, taking photographs and making some phone calls along the way. Meanwhile, one of the men kept pulling out some maps while staring at the fences. All of a sudden, another group of people showed up.
First Warning
It turns out that Miles’ neighbor had been slyly playing the same trick for years… pulling out the boundary fence posts and taking in more land whenever he felt like it.
Before leaving for his trip, he had moved the fence a few feet towards the reserve's direction, making sure he had enough space to park his golf cart and cherry-red sportscar. The authorities knew they would have to move both vehicles, so they taped a note against the man's door before leaving.
Fines
As soon as the crowd left, Miles sneaked to his neighbor's front door and read the notice. It stated that the man was in violation of encroachment onto protected lands and that he had 30 days to move his car, tear up the pavers, and pay a fine of $11,000.
According to the note, the fine he had to pay was on the grounds of damaging protected species that inhabited the protected land as well trespassing private property. But that wasn’t all...
A Decision
Failure to comply within 30 days would result in the golf cart and sports car being towed away and impounded. On top of that, the pavers would be dug up and carted off at the man’s expense.
Additionally, the fine would be increased for every single day past the deadline. Miles couldn't help but smile to himself, but at the same time, he wondered whether he should give his neighbor a call.
A Week Past The Deadline
The weeks went by yet there were still no signs of the man. Before everyone knew it, it was a week past the deadline. Miles knew he was in for quite a show.
Miles sat back and stared as the workers unceremoniously moved the golf cart. A few minutes later, they came back for the cherry-red sports car. Having towed both vehicles away, they started tearing out the fence poles one by one.
Extra Security
Instants later, they ripped out the pavers, and the old rickety fence posts and their surrounding ropes were replaced with brand new metal posts with steel cables. The cables, in turn, were deeply embedded to the ground with concrete.
As if this weren't enough, solar-powered cameras were installed to monitor the wildlife remotely. And since there was still no sign of Miles' neighbor, the number of notices glued to his door kept multiplying. Miles kept on waiting, feeling a mixture of glee and anxiety for his neighbor's comeback. Little did he know that he would be in for a big surprise.
Awaited Arrival
It wasn't until November that the man finally came back. Miles watched him pull into the driveway and walk up to the front door, which was now festooned with notices. The moment he read through the first note, he started screaming with rage from the top of his lungs.
The man rushed back to his car to fetch his cell phone and call the county to find out where his sports car and golf cart were, unleashing a torrent of curses on the way. Meanwhile, Miles couldn't stop staring and sneering. However, the poetic justice of it all was still to come.
Poetic Justice
Three days later, the man confronted Miles, demanding to be told whether he had witnessed the moment the county “stole his car and destroyed his backyard.” When Miles told him he had, the man screamed out: “Well, why didn’t you call me when you saw them putting notices on my door?! You had my number up North!”
Miles took a long pause before replying. He said that calling him had actually crossed his mind, but figured that it would be best if he “minded his own damn business.” It goes without saying that the man lost his temper and never spoke to Miles again. But as despicable as he was, this annoying neighbor was nothing compared to the one from our next story...
Angry Neighbor Tries To Shut Down Boy's Lemonade Stand
It was a hot summer in Gladstone, Missouri and Jacob Martin's family didn't have an air conditioner to help them survive the heat. Therefore, little Jacob decided to give his family a hand by opening a lemonade stand to raise some money.
He was more than excited to get everything ready and start selling lemonade to his neighbors. His mother, Gina, was so proud of her son's solidarity that she helped him out.
Getting Ready
When Jacob shared his plans with his older sister, she told him she also wanted to give him a hand with his project, so she bought him the lemonade stand. The eight-year-old boy was plainly ecstatic.
Once he finished decorating his new stand and painting a sign all on his own, he officially launched his new business. He started selling lemonade for 50 cents a cup in his mom's front yard and luckily, customers quickly started showing up.
A Good-Hearted Kid
As we've mentioned before, Jacob's plan was to raise enough money for an air conditioner, but what he never knew was that his own parents were hiding a secret from him. It turns out that his mother could actually afford buying one, meaning that there was actually no need for Jacob to raise money at all.
Seeing how excited he was, his mother didn't say a word and let the little boy run his own business. However, she convinced him to use the money for something ever better: donating it to the local church. This inspired Jacob to work even harder.
Running Into Trouble
Before he knew it, Jacob's business was booming, and plus, he was having so much fun selling lemonade. But on June 29, 2018, everything changed. One of his neighbors walked up to him and asked him a bizarre question.
“This guy came up to me and said, ‘Do you have a permit?’ And I thought, ‘What? What’s going on?" Jacob said in an interview with a local news outlet. Since when did children need a permit to sell lemonade?
What Permit?
Gina quickly noticed that something was going on and headed towards the lemonade stand. Once again, the man asked her if they either had a health permit or a food handler's permit. Gina was almost as confused as Jacob at this point.
Gina asked the man whether he was a local state employee, but he replied that he was nothing but a concerned customer. "I want to know who I should go to if I get sick off this", he replied back.
Searching For Answers
After this unexpected moment, Gina remained worried. What if this "concerned customer" called the police or tried to have her son's lemonade stand shut down? Fearing the worst,, she turned to the Internet for help.
She googled whether her son actually did need a permit to run his lemonade stand but didn't find any concrete answers. Therefore, she posted her question on Facebook, hoping someone would provide her with an answer.
Cops Show Up
The next day, Jacob opened up his stand as usual and started selling lemonade, unaware of what was going on. Gina, however, was feeling paranoid, guessing that the angry neighbor would show up again to intimidate her son.
However, little did she imagine what was about to happen. Suddenly, a group of police officers stopped right in front of Jacob's lemonade stand and got out of their cars. Were they coming to shut it down? Were they really in so much trouble?
Living Nightmare
A million thoughts started rushing through Gina's head as she walked out the house. Was her neighbor really that upset at the thought of a little boy selling some cold beverages? Sure, kids can be annoying sometimes, but this was beyond ridiculous.
Surely the police had more important things to do, so why were they there? What could the neighbor have told them for them to send so many officers? Read on and find out.
Relief
But then, as she finally faced the police officers, she realized that they weren't there to shut down Jacob's lemonade stand. They only wanted some lemonade!
The officers happily ordered several cups of lemonade and chatted with Jacob, who couldn't have felt more excited. After that, the officers gave Jacob a big surprise.
The Permit
It turned out that one of the police officers had seen Gina's Facebook post and therefore decided to help Jacob out. He could not believe how rude the neighbor had been, so he and his fellow officers got him a permit.
Now, if Jacob's annoying neighbor came back once again, the boy would have the permit to shut him up. Not only that, but he would have the whole police department on his side! So what do you think? Which of the two neighbors do you find more audacious?