This is absurd. I spent the morning cleaning my kitchen - I got a lot done, and it now looks a lot nicer. When I was cleaning the stove, I bumped one of the knobs for one of the burners. It's a gas stove, and it started clicking away, trying to light... but with no luck. I shut it off and tried the other four burners; nothing lit at all. Mom tried as well, also to no avail. (The stove lit just fine back when she bought the place.) So, we called out a man from the gas company. At first he just said that the gas had been switched off. He turned it on, and then said that it looked like there was a leak somewhere. Initially he checked all the lines in the house; they were fine. Then he went outside to look. He came back in after a few minutes and said, "Well, I have good news for you and very, very bad news. The good news that I found the leak. The bad news is that you have no plumbing under your house." What? "The crackheads done stole all your copper piping." Apparently all the tubing which carried the gas from the gas main throughout the house was made of copper, and (as I heard numerous times today) the cost of copper has gone up a lot recently. This is apparently a common crime. We discussed several potential solutions with the gas man, and we're leaning towards having "hard piping" (made of some non-valuable galvanized metal that no one ever steals) installed instead. This might end up running about $500, but it's better than reinstalling copper piping only to have it ganked by one of my lovely neighbors. Grrrr. It's oddly humerous, although annoying and expensive. We went by the police station and filed a report, including the smashed mailbox (did you know that's a federal offense?), the scratched windows (criminal trespass) and the copper piping (a felony) - although they didn't seem to have much hope for finding the perps. They did suggest that any time I felt threatened (did I mention the crowd of youths hanging out in front of my house last night shooting off fire crackers?) I should call 911. It seems to be the general opinion that if I could get my next-door neighbors (you remember, the ones who were stealing my electricity) to move out, the quality of the neighborhood would improve drastically. Supposedly, repeated calls to 911 might do the trick. Or it might not. We'll see. Tonight I'm going to try to spy on what's going on outside with a strategically rigged webcam. If I get anything of quality, I'll post it for you. (Also, the Officer we spoke with said not to instal burglar bars, as they're a fire hazard, and agreed with my mom that I should get a gun.)
3 comments:
I hate to say it, but you are out of your mind. I know you have your heart set on this hermit lifestyle, but I don't think many hermits have to worry about getting assaulted in the middle of the night. You're an attractive young woman living alone in a black crime ridden neightborhood - if that is not asking for trouble I don't know what is. And I might note that studdies have shown that if your gun ever gets used, it will most likely be you getting shot with it.
Well, despite the fact that people keep suggesting that I get a gun, I actually have no desire whatsoever to have one on the premises. And as for the rest, we shall wait and see. Honestly, it's less that it's a bad neighborhood and more that the house nextdoor is full of a bad lot. One can always hope that they'll move out.
wow a gun.
its interesting to hear another person dealing with a neighborhood that has its flaws. but stealing the copper piping? thats nuts.
"You're an attractive young woman living alone in a black crime ridden neightborhood"
I dunno about the east coast or sthe south? but back on the west coast this would be considered a bit racist. Most of my criminals here around me are as white as my sheets and are meth addicts. My African population is just that...the most kind people you ever met, immigrants from Africa...too busy playing soccer in the park...
i do agree that the gun means a commitment to learning how to use it correctly...but to me that seems like an interesting endeavor.
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