Trashy Neighbors

We have got some seriously trashy neighbors. Since we've lived here, they have had an assortment of Old Crap out on the curb. At various times, the collection has included a mattress, a couch, a minivan, an exercise bike, and a washer and dryer. And it has been rainy lately, so go ahead and picture the splendor.

Now, it looks like most of the Old Crap is gone, save the rusted remains of the washer and dryer. The weird thing is that they appeared to have had a yard sale on Labor Day....Does this mean that people actually bought the Old Crap? But then I noticed that someone else down the street had an exercise bike in their yard -- it appeared to be the very same bike from the Old Crap collection. I like to think that the people who live in this house had seen the bike sitting up the block for weeks, coveting it. Maybe without really being able to explain why. So, under cloak of darkness, they stole the Old Crap bike for their very own. But, after the thrill of the hunt wore off, they realized that it was, in fact, Old Crap. And so they left it in their yard, hoping someone else would spirit it away.

At least in my neighborhood in Oakland, the Old Crap was contained in the shopping carts of the people who lugged it around. Or it was out by the dumpster, but not for long. It was mobile Old Crap. But I guess that in suburbia (or at least my little corner of it), people have yards and their very own places on the curb for Old Crap. And it just stays and stays.

I wonder if that washer and dryer will ever disappear, or if winter will come and some small animal will make a den inside.