A Bad Start to My Weekend

So my day started out with me calling 911 to report a guy climbing out the back window of my late neighbor Dave's house, as it was happening......

Dave S.

Tuesday morning of this past week I saw the storm window from the same window leaning against the house, and I really regret not calling the police that day. I was starting a load of laundry this morning and looked up to see a bicycle coming out the back window followed by a young white guy. And he was looking at my house, and I am pretty sure he saw me.

I'll tell ya, the thing I learned today is to take a picture, or better yet a video before calling the police, because before I could even finish the call with the 911 operator he was long gone. And I don't know about anywhere else, but the dispatchers locally are horrible. They either waste your time asking dumb questions, or they treat you like you're an idiot. It's very frustrating.

I was so shaken up by the whole experience, I am probably going to have another nightmare where I wake myself up yelling at an intruder in my kitchen. Living alone it is very unnerving to have the house right next door broken into, I'm glad I have deadbolts on the doors, but still.

Dave Sr. passed away in March 2006 and the house has been empty ever since. His son David Jr. inherited it and has had it listed for sale three times now, but no takers because he is probably asking for too much. Unfortunately the house will possibly be torn down because the whole property is 2 1/2 lots, so it will most likely become apartments or duplex's or something obnoxious.

Dave Sr. was a sweetheart to me and my late brother Mark who originally lived in this house. Dave's wife Mabel passed away in 1999, and she was a lovely person. Dave ended up having open heart surgery and a pig valve put in around 2002, and I visited him a lot during that time to make sure he was okay because his son Dave Jr. lives in Seattle. We joked that he was my 'Washington' dad because he looked out for me too.

Dave had this sneaky habit of mowing my lawn while I was at work. He had a John Deere riding lawn mower so to him it was no big deal, and he would always brush aside my thanks saying 'Oh, it only took my five minutes". But he had a knack for mowing right before it rained, so he saved my butt plenty of times. He apparently had the reputation of being a grump with some of the neighborhood kids. I think that he was probably a lot like me, that he just was pissy with people that didn't respect his space. But he was always nice to me, and I was more than happy to help him out when he needed it.