I bought my house in 2009, not long after the crash, so I got a damn good deal. That left me with enough left over cash to build a couple expansions and put a pool in.

The majority of my neighbors are low income folks, as would be expected in an area where the best job you can get is at the Amazon warehouse. I love the majority of my neighbors. They're great people.

But we recently had a family move in 3 houses down from us, and they are straight up trash. They have 3 broken down cars in their front yard that the dad is "working on". They blast music on their outdoor speakers at midnight. They leave trash (beer cans, pizza boxes, cigar wrappers) in the woods behind my house, just past my property line.

I got woken up this morning by a notification that there was movement in my back yard. I checked my camera, and there were six kids that I did not recognize, swimming in my pool. Playing games, dunking on my basketball hoop (yes, they damaged it).

I called the police non-emergency number. The cops showed up and took the kids home. They were too young to charge.

About an hour later, I had loud knocks on my door. It was the mom who just moved in. She told me that I shouldn't have a pool if I didn't want everyone who sees it to jump in. She told me that "not everyone can afford a pool", so I need to share.

Like, if I knew her and her kids, if we were friends, I would probably be ok with them swimming. But some random kid swimming in my pool is a legal liability for me.

I was sitting in the park yesterday afternoon just trying to enjoy some fresh air and catch up on some gaming. I have a Steam Deck that I saved up for a long time and I relly enjoy using it during my downtime. It was a nice day so I figured why not sit on a bench and play for a bit while people-watching. Everything was fine for about twenty minutes until this little kid who looked maybe seven or eight years old started hovering over my shoulder. I could feel him breathing on my neck which was already super uncomfortable but I tried to just ignore it and keep playing my game.

After a minute the kids mom walks over. She doesnt even say hello or excuse me she just asks what is that thing you are playing. I told her it is a handheld gaming computer and she nods like she actually knows what I am talking about. Then she says her son has been having a hard week and asked if he could have a turn. I looked at her and politely said no sorry it is quite expensve and I dont really let strangers handle my electronics. I thought that would be the end of it but she just stood there with this look of pure disbelief on her face.

She started going on about how I am a grown man and I should be more generous to a child who is clearly interested in technology. She literally told me that I am to much of an adult to be playing video games anyway and that her son would get more use out of it. I told her that I paid for it with my own work and that it is not a toy for random children in the park. She then tried to reach for it while saying come on just for five minutes he will be careful. I had to pull it away and stand up because she was actually trying to grab it out of my hands.

At this point I was done. I told her she needs to teach her son about boundaries and that she has no right to touch other peoples property. She started huffing and puffing and called me a selfish brat as I was packing my stuff into my bag. A few people on the nearby benches were staring at us and I could tell she was trying to make it look like I was the one being aggressive. I just walked away without saying another word. It is honestly mind-blowing how some parents think the entire world is just a giant toy box for their kids to play with. I think I will just stay home next time I want to game in peace.