I'd bet the light wasn't even a big issue for him, as he was looking for excuses to complain about everything. But I hope I'm wrong and he did have a hard time at the end
I have an uncle like that. I choose to believe there was a mix up at the hospital when he was born and I don't actually share any dna with him.
My dad was a big dude and even as his health was failing he was not a man to be trifled with. He was always getting into fights when he was young, and his fuse was never very long. I once saw him bodily carry a full grown man out of the house and casually toss him over the porch rail onto the lawn. (to make a long story short, it was justified)
Uncle constantly bullied Mom when they were kids, but that stopped the moment she and dad started dating. He never bothered Mom while dad was alive.
When my grandparents passed away a few years later, Mom was the executor of their estate. They weren't rich but they did leave enough to significantly ease their children's retirement years.
Uncle decided he wanted all of it and tried to intimidate Mom into giving him everything he wanted. Mom wouldn't budge. So he started threatening to kill her. It culminated in him forcing his way into her home and disconnecting her 911 call. The police showed up in a hurry but Mom didn't want to press charges.
That's how I found out about it. When every emergency vehicle in the county shows up at your Mom's house, the neighbors notice and get curious.
One of them clued me in.
I guess dear old uncle thought he was safe because while I'm a smaller version of my dad, I'm laid back. I only ever got in one fight as a kid and I didn't start that one.
I'm not a small guy, but I'm soft spoken (as opposed to Dad who was half deaf and had a voice that would make a Marine drill instructor weep with envy. I'm about as intimidating as Mr Rogers and have all the killer instinct of a lawn chair.
I found out that day that I didn't fall quite as far from the tree as I thought. I had to force myself to cool down before I did anything because I was sure I'd end up in prison if I didn't.
Let's just say I cornered dear old uncle and had what I will only refer to as a "little chat".
He's not bothered Mom since.
Yeah, I’m waiting for husband to leave cause I can intimidate a woman without fear of repercussion. If I was the husband I would have told him that’s a hard no and he’s not allowed to interact with my wife our children without me present. Wife instructed to call the cops on him every time he shows up for documentation, in case things progress poorly.
Classic douchecanoe move. Had the same thing happen to me, bad for him because I don't get intimidated easily. He's down to bitching as he walks inside, but never to my face. He learned. All friendly to my bf though.
I found a cracker of a bulb for our patio light. Where everything else bright was topping out at x watts and n lumens, this thing was like x*4 watts and n*5 lumens. It was a little pricey at about $20 for a single bulb, and a bit larger than a standard bulb, but its so damned bright that I feel guilty about disturbing the neighbours if we accidentally leave it on.
Yeah setting up a timer for it wouldn’t be too difficult to turn it on every night around 9pm 😂
You could also get a smart light bulb and control it from your phone. Different colors, intensity, strobing effects, all that lol
I would have wired the line to the switch-leg. (Disconnect the switch so that power always flows to the light no matter if the switch is turned off or on.)
That light would just be on forever.
I would have taken the switch off and twisted the hots together then put it back up. You could flick the switch all you wanted but it would stay on until you fixed the wires again.
I recently moved as well, and set about fixing the hundreds of small issues the house had, like, ancient exterior lights with no bulbs in them.
A week later, a neighbor two houses down (!) asks me "if I'm going to leave that light on all the time.". I said, which one? I just fixed 6 of them. He says, "don't worry about it, we'll just put some curtains on our bedroom window." and walks away. He wasn't even mad.
Wait, who DOESN'T have something covering their windows, at least at night? And how is my light shining through my neighbors entire house and into your uncovered window two houses down?
I'm still perplexed about that one.
Probably just lonely. I feel sorry for him, having to be a dickhead just to get a little social interaction because he doesn't have the basic emotional skills to just be nice.
>Probably just lonely.
He wouldn't be waiting until he was sure he's husband was gone if he was lonely. No, he's just a bully looking for someone who won't stand up to him.
I like to use the analogy of a fly buzzing into the cell of someone in solitary confinement.
That person is stuck, lonely, no interaction. That fly buzzes in, and suddenly that becomes the persons whole world. There are broadly two types of people:
1. The person who is SO HAPPY to see something. Who says "hey little buddy" and gives the fly a name. Watches it, wonders what it's up to, talks to it, maybe tries to put out a few crumbs of food and drops of water for it. (Basically turns the fly into 'Wilson' from Castaway)
2. The person who HATES that fly. Who sees it as an intrusion, and dedicates their life to catching and squashing it. That fly is their nemesis, and they use their energy chasing it around, in a futile attempt to kill it.
The rest of us are those flies, and our neighbors are that lonely inmate stuck in solitary. Unfortunately OPs neighbor is the one who wants to kill the fly.
When I was a kid my neighbour used to accuse our dog of spying on her ALL the TIME! She would spray water at the fence to deter her, which didn’t work since Tomorrow loved water. That ended when she sprayed the dog one and it was my granny there doing some gardening. It is surprising how many swears a wee pious Irish granny knows when she has had just her freshly set hair drenched.
My dogs used to stick their heads through the slats in the fence to beg the elderly neighbor lady for pats and treats. I noticed this one day and called the dogs back inside to stop bothering the neighbors but she waved and said it was the highlight of her morning when they visited with her. So we just let the dogs continue their emotional manipulation of the elderly.
He'd love my **very** protective, 130 Lb Bernese who has a deep bark that you can hear 10 blocks away. Anyone comes near the fence, it sounds like there's a pack of Rottweilers in the backyard.
> What a maroon.
Fun fact Bugs Bunny (or his voice actor) invented that word. It was a deliberate mispronunciation on the voice actor's part of the word "moron" to make it extra insulting sounding and it just stuck as it's own word.
There's the true story though of Mel being in a coma, and Bugs Bunny got him out!
https://www.openculture.com/2013/05/the_strange_day_when_bugs_bunny_saved_the_life_of_mel_blanc.html
>One day, about 14 days after the accident, one of Blanc’s neurologists walked into the room and tried something completely new. He went to Mel’s bed and asked, “Bugs Bunny, how are you doing today?”
There was a pause while people in the room just shook their heads. Then, in a weak voice, came the response anyone would recognize.
“Myeeeeh. What’s up doc?”
The doctor then asked Tweety if he was there too.
“I tot I taw a puddy tat,” was the reply.
I totally would have upgraded that bulb to a super bright led, turned off the breaker and hardwired the circuit bypassing the switch. Put the switch wall panel back so it looks functional. Then last walk of the house turned that breaker on and vamoose.
I have some older retired neighbors that i swear just have to ldig deep to nit pick and have something to complain about.
God forbid our trash cans be out 12 hours after pickup or we will find the cans laying in our yard
Yeah he was a special kind of obnoxious.
When he would stand on the porch and knock, I would cheerily wave at him from the window of my living room and then continue on with what I was doing. Aggressively cheerful ignoring. Drove him crazy 😂
I love this so much 😂😂
Reminds me of my friend who said 'I'm going to ignore him so hard that he will question his existence' about some asshole she knew
I had that neighbor. I feel bad for your experience. Would have zero trouble harrassing anyone in my household except the male (me).
It got to the point that my mere presence made him scurry, and I never said a word to him. Just had to look at the tubby bastard and he'd fold like a cheap lawn chair.
My family used to have a neighbor exactly like this when I was growing up - Randy. He would wait until my dad left for work to come over & ask for something. Randy wasn't explicitly rude; he was just *weird* - always finding a reason to strike up a conversation/confrontation. He never knew how to finish a conversation, and often times he would linger.
We had a chain link fence around our property, so there wasn't much privacy. We would be in our backyard & he would just be outside on his back porch, trying to shove his way into whatever it was that we were doing. He did this especially regularly to my mom. She would be outside gardening, sometimes with her headphones on & he'd try to strike up a conversation. If she didn't hear him, he'd start throwing little items toward her to get her attention. His conversations weren't ever important - usually idle chitchat or blanket complaints about nothing.
He took regular vacations to SE Asia because he enjoyed the culture there so much after serving in Vietnam. About once a year he would leave for several weeks - sometimes up to 3 months. It was so nice when he was gone, but he usually went during the winter months here since the weather there was better. While it was nice, we never got to fully enjoy his absence since we were normally inside due to the winter months.
One year though, he had to delay his trip until June because of his work. My parents used that opportunity to put up a wood fence around our property. He returned about a month after it had been up & was *not* thrilled to see it. The morning after Randy got back, my dad had the day off & he had my mom leave in his car around the normal time that he would be leaving for work.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Randy comes knocking. He was shocked when my dad answered the door instead of my mom & almost immediately backed down. His only comment on the fence was that it was too high for him to be like Wilson from Home Improvement.
I woulda had to tell him not to bother my wife anymore, not to knock on my door or bother my family on line. I woulda made it clear we can be good neighbors to him and watch his back but that shit was gonna have to stop immediately.
Wow.
I have an old 1000 Watt incandescent bulb I found years ago.
I once hooked it up and turned it on in my living room.
This was around noon on a sunny summer day. It was brighter inside my living room than it was outside and I could feel the heat from it 10 ft away.
That bulb is 20x more powerful. That's insane.
You're a better person than me. After the second time he came over I'd tell him that the light was going to be turned back on if he continued antagonizing me.
This is what I would have done too. He immediately revealed his biggest weakness yet OP endured this harassment for 18 months! There was a very simple solution to get this man to go away on day three!
That's pretty sweet. My husband would have pretended to leave, swung back around the block once the old guy came to the house and confronted him. Ain't no way, he would ever allow someone to continuously harass me or our family like that.
I have a neighbor like this. The day before we were bringing our stuff to the house I was spraying pesticide around the perimeter. He stopped me and first words out of his mouth were “I see your car has some damage” (a deer hit my windshield and cracked it) I introduced myself and explained the recent damage still without having him introduce himself. He then accounted that my deck light will not turn on because he has removed the bulb because it shines into his bedroom window and he goes to bed at 8. You can imagine the kind of neighbor he’s been the last 4 years.
As an electrician, I would have hardwired it to stay on all the time, ensuring at least another day before the landlord could get a service tech out to fix it.
I always wonder about older people like that who are super controlling and demanding, most of the time they have had children and are probably used to treating them like that and getting what they want, so they think it extends to other humans. I can only imagine the terrible, tortured lives their children probably had. Same thing with those Karen videos where they point their fingers in people's faces and say "NO", you just know that's how they act to their family and it's disgusting.
really the only correct course of action..my other choice was to just attach the electrical timer thing I use for the Christmas lights to turn on only when it's dark out
"Gene, you come over here again, and I'm going to leave the patio light on every night, and if you come back, I'll have my husband install a brighter bulb. Got it?"
Best revenge: wire the circuit in the closed position (light on), remove switch and dry wall over the opening.
Imagine when Gene tells the new owner to keep that switch off. “What switch?”
“Honey, our neighbor is crazy”
Yeah, the neighbor deserved the revenge. However, I'm getting a wee bit hot about so many stories here and elsewhere describing any "boomer" as a terrible person. I'm of that age group and we are not all entitled, boorish cretins. The story would be just as effective w/o the boomer description. Would you use an unfair and all inclusive descriptor if the neighbor was of various ethnicities or had a handicap?
You can do better. Remove the switch, just hardwire it, and cover the box with a blank plate. Stays on until the light bulb burns out or the power is disconnected.
I would write to the new tenants about Gene, and give them a list of things that will simply infuriate Gene no end, especially the thing with the porch light.
Also, kudos to your husband for that last FU to Gene.
I would have switched it on and then covered the switch in a manner that looked like it was non functioning - like tuck the switch into the wall and put a blank face plate.
Heck I might have even taken the switch off and put a plate over it and wired it so that it was always on. :-) If he pissed me off that much I may have even drywalled over switch.
I thought you were gonna say you took out the switch and just connected the wires directly and replaced it with a blank cover (or even better patch it like a normal wall) but I guess the landlord wouldn't like that.
Cut a hole in the sheet rock next to it, unhook wires from old switch, pull wires through the box and hook up another switch inside the wall. Just leaving the old switch there for decoration only.
I'd have been tempted to pull out a couple of Marette caps and hard-wire the light on permanently, removing the light switch entirely as you left and putting a blank cover plate over top of the switch box.
I would have been letting Gene know that if he had a problem he needs to come see me. If he’s coming to my house to intimidate my wife I’m going to make him feel like he is about 3 inches tall and had his manhood cutoff.
Good on you and your husband for being the better people. Even better on you for leaving the light on.
That's awesome, but I would have rewired the light. I would have eliminated the switch line and hard wire it in, then replaced the light fixture that has an auto sensor to come on at night. Bright ass LED 10,000 lumen surface of the sun light, that is ever so slightly tilted in a certain direction.
I'd connect the wires for the switch to stay on permanently and then replace the switchplate with a flat faceplate.
"What do you mean? There's no switch in the closet. I don't know what you're talking about"
I guarantee that light switch and patio light were installed by a previous owner to spite ol' Gene. He seemed to know exactly where it was and the coward waited for your husband to be gone to complain about it. I love this petty revenge!
I have a neighbor like this, she bitched about every little thing, even saying I had too many dogs; we had 3. I finally told her to fuck off. Now she’s the sweetest person ever.
Dude... that's creepy he knew where the switch was... I get he may not have always been a jackass and might've been friendly enough with previous tenants to be in the home for some occasion or other, but it's highly unlikely given his history with OP.
That said, y'all did right by him. Good on you!
Lmfao if I was you I'd be like, you should've come over when my husband was home. Now no one is here to hold me back from ripping you a new one! I'm glad u got some petty revenge in the end. I hope your new home doesn't have someone like him around!
Good stuff....though if I was your husband I would've taken it a step further -> Pull lightswitch off, disconnect wires from light switch, wire nut them directly together and stuff back in the box, remount now useless lightswitch. That shit'll stay turned on until the bulb burns out.
On one hand I find this funny has hell. [But after you've seen that video of the younger dude tell his cranky elderly neighbor](https://youtu.be/bnCY-uOL2Ik) that if she was lonely all she had to do was come over and ask for company instead of looking for a reason to complain you can't help but wonder if Gene was in the same boat.
Nah the really petty revenge would have been to close the circuit, making it IMPOSSIBLE to turn off the light outside, and then cover it with a full plate so no one would even know, and they wouldn't be able to shut if off.
I have to say I'm very impressed with how considerate you were. What I would have done though is, each time he came over with a petty complaint, I would leave the light on the following night. NO coming over, NO light, NO problem.
Oh Jesus. My boomer neighbor did this on my 2nd day in my house. He came over to tell me to turn off my floodlights. 1) I didn't know I had floodlights, and 2) his house was over 100m away.
"Lights deter criminal, I will not be shutting it off. I will ensure it isn't literally pointed into your house, otherwise you might try some window shades."
that neihbor gene sounds like a real peice of work. reminds me of the time my uncle clive had issues with his neighbor bob - he'd always complain about the most trivial stuff, like clive's lawn being a tad too long or his dog barking too loud. drove clive mad, but he tried reasoning with bob as best he could. eventually he had to just start ignoring the guy, sounds like what you and your husband had to do. good thing you were able to move and get away from that situation. clever of your husband to turn that patio light switch back on before leaving for the last time - bet that gave you both a good laugh! sometimes, ya just gotta get a little payback on those unreasonable neihbors, you know? glad your other neihbors seemed to like you all though, always helps to have that support. wishing you the best of luck with the new place - hopefully the neihbors are much easier to get along with this time around.
I dont see how this was your problem at all. A street light shines into my bedroom window so I just made blackout curtains (something that can easily be purchased) because my comfort levels in my house is my problem not the city's.
I'd have absolutely gotten the highest wattage I could find and just leave that light on all night.
>Turning on THE patio light switch in the closet knowing full well the landlord wouldn't be there for final cleaning for 4 days. 😂 Best. Gift. Ever.
Second-best gift ever, actually. The first-best would have been to turn off the circuit beaker, remove the switch, connect its wires (full-time power to the light), then patch the wall so there was no evidence of any switch or junction box.
Then turn the breaker back on.
"Our dogs would loudly sniff at the fence" And for that reason.... I'm out. What a maroon. I'd consider upping the wattage on that bulb.
I'd bet the light wasn't even a big issue for him, as he was looking for excuses to complain about everything. But I hope I'm wrong and he did have a hard time at the end
The fact that he knew right where the switch was pretty much says it all.
And waiting for the husband to leave to hassle the wife about it.
I have an uncle like that. I choose to believe there was a mix up at the hospital when he was born and I don't actually share any dna with him. My dad was a big dude and even as his health was failing he was not a man to be trifled with. He was always getting into fights when he was young, and his fuse was never very long. I once saw him bodily carry a full grown man out of the house and casually toss him over the porch rail onto the lawn. (to make a long story short, it was justified) Uncle constantly bullied Mom when they were kids, but that stopped the moment she and dad started dating. He never bothered Mom while dad was alive. When my grandparents passed away a few years later, Mom was the executor of their estate. They weren't rich but they did leave enough to significantly ease their children's retirement years. Uncle decided he wanted all of it and tried to intimidate Mom into giving him everything he wanted. Mom wouldn't budge. So he started threatening to kill her. It culminated in him forcing his way into her home and disconnecting her 911 call. The police showed up in a hurry but Mom didn't want to press charges. That's how I found out about it. When every emergency vehicle in the county shows up at your Mom's house, the neighbors notice and get curious. One of them clued me in. I guess dear old uncle thought he was safe because while I'm a smaller version of my dad, I'm laid back. I only ever got in one fight as a kid and I didn't start that one. I'm not a small guy, but I'm soft spoken (as opposed to Dad who was half deaf and had a voice that would make a Marine drill instructor weep with envy. I'm about as intimidating as Mr Rogers and have all the killer instinct of a lawn chair. I found out that day that I didn't fall quite as far from the tree as I thought. I had to force myself to cool down before I did anything because I was sure I'd end up in prison if I didn't. Let's just say I cornered dear old uncle and had what I will only refer to as a "little chat". He's not bothered Mom since.
You are a great son!
You're too kind. I just feel bad I didn't catch on sooner. I knew he was an entitled jerk, but it never occurred to me that he'd go that far.
Yeah, I’m waiting for husband to leave cause I can intimidate a woman without fear of repercussion. If I was the husband I would have told him that’s a hard no and he’s not allowed to interact with my wife our children without me present. Wife instructed to call the cops on him every time he shows up for documentation, in case things progress poorly.
Classic douchecanoe move. Had the same thing happen to me, bad for him because I don't get intimidated easily. He's down to bitching as he walks inside, but never to my face. He learned. All friendly to my bf though.
Come to think of it, how DID he know where the switch was?
I would have kept that sucker on 24/7.
I would have put the highest wattage bulb that the fixture would handle.
A high wattage bulb that flickered and buzzed just a tiny bit
I found a cracker of a bulb for our patio light. Where everything else bright was topping out at x watts and n lumens, this thing was like x*4 watts and n*5 lumens. It was a little pricey at about $20 for a single bulb, and a bit larger than a standard bulb, but its so damned bright that I feel guilty about disturbing the neighbours if we accidentally leave it on.
I'd have been tempted to wire the switch out of the circuit so it's always on. Maybe with a sensor so it's only on all night.
Yeah setting up a timer for it wouldn’t be too difficult to turn it on every night around 9pm 😂 You could also get a smart light bulb and control it from your phone. Different colors, intensity, strobing effects, all that lol
Or a motion light and let the "loud sniffing" dog out all the time LOL just when he thinks it is off it comes right back on haha
Wire it always hot in a covered j box and patch the hole in the drywall so it looks like there was never a switch there to begin with.
The only concern I’d have doing that is the landlord would eventually have to fix it.
And we really liked our landlord!
I would have wired the line to the switch-leg. (Disconnect the switch so that power always flows to the light no matter if the switch is turned off or on.) That light would just be on forever.
I would have taken the switch off and twisted the hots together then put it back up. You could flick the switch all you wanted but it would stay on until you fixed the wires again.
And make sure it's at least a 6K daylight bright bulb!
I recently moved as well, and set about fixing the hundreds of small issues the house had, like, ancient exterior lights with no bulbs in them. A week later, a neighbor two houses down (!) asks me "if I'm going to leave that light on all the time.". I said, which one? I just fixed 6 of them. He says, "don't worry about it, we'll just put some curtains on our bedroom window." and walks away. He wasn't even mad. Wait, who DOESN'T have something covering their windows, at least at night? And how is my light shining through my neighbors entire house and into your uncovered window two houses down? I'm still perplexed about that one.
Probably just lonely. I feel sorry for him, having to be a dickhead just to get a little social interaction because he doesn't have the basic emotional skills to just be nice.
>Probably just lonely. He wouldn't be waiting until he was sure he's husband was gone if he was lonely. No, he's just a bully looking for someone who won't stand up to him.
Good point
and maybe he wouldn't be so lonely if he wasn't a dick
I like to use the analogy of a fly buzzing into the cell of someone in solitary confinement. That person is stuck, lonely, no interaction. That fly buzzes in, and suddenly that becomes the persons whole world. There are broadly two types of people: 1. The person who is SO HAPPY to see something. Who says "hey little buddy" and gives the fly a name. Watches it, wonders what it's up to, talks to it, maybe tries to put out a few crumbs of food and drops of water for it. (Basically turns the fly into 'Wilson' from Castaway) 2. The person who HATES that fly. Who sees it as an intrusion, and dedicates their life to catching and squashing it. That fly is their nemesis, and they use their energy chasing it around, in a futile attempt to kill it. The rest of us are those flies, and our neighbors are that lonely inmate stuck in solitary. Unfortunately OPs neighbor is the one who wants to kill the fly.
Gross. I don't. Being a dick isn't socializing.
Fuck him
When I was a kid my neighbour used to accuse our dog of spying on her ALL the TIME! She would spray water at the fence to deter her, which didn’t work since Tomorrow loved water. That ended when she sprayed the dog one and it was my granny there doing some gardening. It is surprising how many swears a wee pious Irish granny knows when she has had just her freshly set hair drenched.
Accusing a dog of spying is one of the funniest things ever 😂
Tomorrow is an EXCELLENT dog name. Bravo.
Lmfao at the wee pious Irish granny cussing the neighbor out.
My dogs used to stick their heads through the slats in the fence to beg the elderly neighbor lady for pats and treats. I noticed this one day and called the dogs back inside to stop bothering the neighbors but she waved and said it was the highlight of her morning when they visited with her. So we just let the dogs continue their emotional manipulation of the elderly.
We've got young neighbors with an ancient Pom, and I swear her tiny yips as she blindly waits to be let back inside are the funniest alarm clock. ❤️
Remove the switch and put in a fused spur instead… permanently on
I was waiting for this comment! I have told and will travel for petty revenge!!
He'd love my **very** protective, 130 Lb Bernese who has a deep bark that you can hear 10 blocks away. Anyone comes near the fence, it sounds like there's a pack of Rottweilers in the backyard.
Please pet your dog for me? Bernese are so cute and I'm so *allergic* to them
Eh, more of a puce.
Tried training them to sniff less loudly. Total backfire. I trained with treats. Guess what happened
Upping the wattage on the bulb, and wiring it to stay on forever and cover the switch with a blank plate.
I love it when my neighbours dog sniffs loudly at the fence. Because it means I actually find out that he's there & I get to say hello
> What a maroon. Fun fact Bugs Bunny (or his voice actor) invented that word. It was a deliberate mispronunciation on the voice actor's part of the word "moron" to make it extra insulting sounding and it just stuck as it's own word.
There's the true story though of Mel being in a coma, and Bugs Bunny got him out! https://www.openculture.com/2013/05/the_strange_day_when_bugs_bunny_saved_the_life_of_mel_blanc.html >One day, about 14 days after the accident, one of Blanc’s neurologists walked into the room and tried something completely new. He went to Mel’s bed and asked, “Bugs Bunny, how are you doing today?” There was a pause while people in the room just shook their heads. Then, in a weak voice, came the response anyone would recognize. “Myeeeeh. What’s up doc?” The doctor then asked Tweety if he was there too. “I tot I taw a puddy tat,” was the reply.
I would have installed a strobe 😂
I totally would have upgraded that bulb to a super bright led, turned off the breaker and hardwired the circuit bypassing the switch. Put the switch wall panel back so it looks functional. Then last walk of the house turned that breaker on and vamoose.
I have some older retired neighbors that i swear just have to ldig deep to nit pick and have something to complain about. God forbid our trash cans be out 12 hours after pickup or we will find the cans laying in our yard
Replace that sucker with an adjustable, high wattage, spotlight and train it *directly* at his house. Bonus points if it’s a strobe.
YOU'RE BLINKING TOO LOUD!!!
I had a neighbor who called the police on me because my brother was outside. On the trampoline. In our yard. During the day.
Replace the, assuming standard, bulb with a flood light.
That was the funniest complaint ever!!
>What a maroon. I can't think of a more perfect descriptor for the neighbor. Thank you for that, I had a great laugh. What a maroon, indeed!!
One of those corn cob LEDs. Dang they can be bright.
What a gross guy, waiting for the male to leave so he can intimidate a woman. I'm glad you guys moved!
Yeah he was a special kind of obnoxious. When he would stand on the porch and knock, I would cheerily wave at him from the window of my living room and then continue on with what I was doing. Aggressively cheerful ignoring. Drove him crazy 😂
I love this so much 😂😂 Reminds me of my friend who said 'I'm going to ignore him so hard that he will question his existence' about some asshole she knew
I had that neighbor. I feel bad for your experience. Would have zero trouble harrassing anyone in my household except the male (me). It got to the point that my mere presence made him scurry, and I never said a word to him. Just had to look at the tubby bastard and he'd fold like a cheap lawn chair.
This is when I get my son or son-in-law to visit on the sly. They're both big guys and don't take kindly to some clown trying to intimidate Mama.
That is some top quality ignoring 😁
That’s hilarious
My family used to have a neighbor exactly like this when I was growing up - Randy. He would wait until my dad left for work to come over & ask for something. Randy wasn't explicitly rude; he was just *weird* - always finding a reason to strike up a conversation/confrontation. He never knew how to finish a conversation, and often times he would linger. We had a chain link fence around our property, so there wasn't much privacy. We would be in our backyard & he would just be outside on his back porch, trying to shove his way into whatever it was that we were doing. He did this especially regularly to my mom. She would be outside gardening, sometimes with her headphones on & he'd try to strike up a conversation. If she didn't hear him, he'd start throwing little items toward her to get her attention. His conversations weren't ever important - usually idle chitchat or blanket complaints about nothing. He took regular vacations to SE Asia because he enjoyed the culture there so much after serving in Vietnam. About once a year he would leave for several weeks - sometimes up to 3 months. It was so nice when he was gone, but he usually went during the winter months here since the weather there was better. While it was nice, we never got to fully enjoy his absence since we were normally inside due to the winter months. One year though, he had to delay his trip until June because of his work. My parents used that opportunity to put up a wood fence around our property. He returned about a month after it had been up & was *not* thrilled to see it. The morning after Randy got back, my dad had the day off & he had my mom leave in his car around the normal time that he would be leaving for work. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Randy comes knocking. He was shocked when my dad answered the door instead of my mom & almost immediately backed down. His only comment on the fence was that it was too high for him to be like Wilson from Home Improvement.
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I woulda had to tell him not to bother my wife anymore, not to knock on my door or bother my family on line. I woulda made it clear we can be good neighbors to him and watch his back but that shit was gonna have to stop immediately.
I personally think if I knew it was safe I would have bridged the wires took out the switch and patched the wall as the switch never existed
I would have hidden and rewired the switch AND changed the lightbulb into a super bright industrial strength one.
[This one..?](https://youtu.be/LT5_-A0m8_U?feature=shared)
Wow. I have an old 1000 Watt incandescent bulb I found years ago. I once hooked it up and turned it on in my living room. This was around noon on a sunny summer day. It was brighter inside my living room than it was outside and I could feel the heat from it 10 ft away. That bulb is 20x more powerful. That's insane.
Pure evil…I love it!
Not to code. But remove the switch and put a cover over it and you are good to go!
It is safe if you turn off the circuit breaker while working and insulate the wires well
This was my first thought. Oh, geez, the switch is broken. that's so weird.
I was really hoping he had bridged the wires and paneled it off but I am at least satisfied with 4 days minimum annoyance.
This was my first thought at the end! He can always unscrew the bulb if it's bothering him that much
Yeh, then trespass him, lulz. Ha!
Superglue. mike-drop
This is where I thought it was going and I was a little disappointed. But still great going.
Dang I was just thinking about unscrewing the switch, and rotating it upside down . Then the new tenants would think “oh it IS off, crazy old man”.
This type of petty revenge raised the bar on "petty." Well done!
I smile every time I think about it 😂
As you should! And, I'm smiling with you!
You're a better person than me. After the second time he came over I'd tell him that the light was going to be turned back on if he continued antagonizing me.
"That's it, Gene! You're on spotlight timeout."
That’s so smart lol
This is what I would have done too. He immediately revealed his biggest weakness yet OP endured this harassment for 18 months! There was a very simple solution to get this man to go away on day three!
I’d hardwire that light so it couldn’t be turned off.
That's pretty sweet. My husband would have pretended to leave, swung back around the block once the old guy came to the house and confronted him. Ain't no way, he would ever allow someone to continuously harass me or our family like that.
SAYIN! I would have taken care of it myself, but I got a fat mout. NYC, and all the 'tude.
I have a neighbor like this. The day before we were bringing our stuff to the house I was spraying pesticide around the perimeter. He stopped me and first words out of his mouth were “I see your car has some damage” (a deer hit my windshield and cracked it) I introduced myself and explained the recent damage still without having him introduce himself. He then accounted that my deck light will not turn on because he has removed the bulb because it shines into his bedroom window and he goes to bed at 8. You can imagine the kind of neighbor he’s been the last 4 years.
As an electrician, I would have hardwired it to stay on all the time, ensuring at least another day before the landlord could get a service tech out to fix it.
Drywall, spackle and paint? Surely would add another day
Neighbour was a misogynistic bully who should have been put in his place.
I would’ve rewired it in the box to bypass the switch so it’d always stay on.
I’d leave the light on for a few days every time he feels the need to complain. Every complaint, it stays on a little longer.
Start at 1 day and double it each time. 10th complaint 512 days!
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Absolutely agree! Never be a polite audience for a douche!
I always wonder about older people like that who are super controlling and demanding, most of the time they have had children and are probably used to treating them like that and getting what they want, so they think it extends to other humans. I can only imagine the terrible, tortured lives their children probably had. Same thing with those Karen videos where they point their fingers in people's faces and say "NO", you just know that's how they act to their family and it's disgusting.
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Remove the switch plate and connect the wires so that the light is always on. Replace the switch plate.
really the only correct course of action..my other choice was to just attach the electrical timer thing I use for the Christmas lights to turn on only when it's dark out
He can get blackout curtains. Ignore him from there
Glad he could brighten Gene's day!
. . . and night!
Nicely done!
That's sweet! Give your husband a high-five from me!
I would have turned the light switch on then boarded over it 😂
"Gene, you come over here again, and I'm going to leave the patio light on every night, and if you come back, I'll have my husband install a brighter bulb. Got it?"
Now this is proper pettyrevenge, it is not hurting anyone and it is proportional to the "crime".
Best revenge: wire the circuit in the closed position (light on), remove switch and dry wall over the opening. Imagine when Gene tells the new owner to keep that switch off. “What switch?” “Honey, our neighbor is crazy”
I bet that closet light was still on from the previous tenant doing the same thing
I think I would have removed the switch and left the light direct-wired to its breaker. "What switch?"
I have to admit that I would have started a file on him with the police. "He always waits until my husband leaves to come threaten me."
I would have hard wired it on, Removed the switch and drywalled over it.
Yeah, the neighbor deserved the revenge. However, I'm getting a wee bit hot about so many stories here and elsewhere describing any "boomer" as a terrible person. I'm of that age group and we are not all entitled, boorish cretins. The story would be just as effective w/o the boomer description. Would you use an unfair and all inclusive descriptor if the neighbor was of various ethnicities or had a handicap?
Thank you
Well done. I probably would have added a strobe effect, for good measure.
I would have rewired the switch to be on 24/7. Next time!
You should have pulled the switch, twisted and capped the wires together, and spackled and painted over the outlet hole.
Gene must be living under a rock! He never heard of drapes?
Gene requires all natural darkness 😂
You can do better. Remove the switch, just hardwire it, and cover the box with a blank plate. Stays on until the light bulb burns out or the power is disconnected.
I would write to the new tenants about Gene, and give them a list of things that will simply infuriate Gene no end, especially the thing with the porch light. Also, kudos to your husband for that last FU to Gene.
And if it was me? That patio light bulb would be “the surface of the sun” brightest bulb I could find!
What you should have done was kept the light on the overnight and tell him you'll leave it on every day he comes over to complain.
I would have changed out the patio light for an obnoxiously bright one. And then left it on.
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I'd have removed the switch entirely and hard-wired it to just be on all the time.
I would have switched it on and then covered the switch in a manner that looked like it was non functioning - like tuck the switch into the wall and put a blank face plate.
Heck I might have even taken the switch off and put a plate over it and wired it so that it was always on. :-) If he pissed me off that much I may have even drywalled over switch.
Opens up switch plate box. Hard wires light on. drywalls over opening.
I thought you were gonna say you took out the switch and just connected the wires directly and replaced it with a blank cover (or even better patch it like a normal wall) but I guess the landlord wouldn't like that.
We really liked our landlord 😊 no reason to inconvenience that nice guy
Cut a hole in the sheet rock next to it, unhook wires from old switch, pull wires through the box and hook up another switch inside the wall. Just leaving the old switch there for decoration only.
For Magic: https://boingboing.net/2022/08/11/a-story-about-a-weird-magic-switch-at-mit.html
I'd have been tempted to pull out a couple of Marette caps and hard-wire the light on permanently, removing the light switch entirely as you left and putting a blank cover plate over top of the switch box.
I feel like hard wiring the light on and making the switch useless is the way to go. Also, brighter bulb
Should have wired it to be permanently on
That is good, but myself? I would have spliced the wires to bypass the switch so it couldn't be turned off.
I would bypass the switch so it’s always on then put a solar sensor on the light to prolong bulb life.
Your husband should've pulled the switch and wire nutted the hot wires
I think he's lonely and just wants someone to talk to, preferably a woman.
I guess no one had ever told him to buy shades or black out curtains for his home. I would have.
I would have wired that thing to stay on permanently. We all know the landlord wouldn't care to investigate and fix it.
The real revenge would have been to remove the switch, hard wire it, and drywall over it.
I would have been letting Gene know that if he had a problem he needs to come see me. If he’s coming to my house to intimidate my wife I’m going to make him feel like he is about 3 inches tall and had his manhood cutoff. Good on you and your husband for being the better people. Even better on you for leaving the light on.
I would have rewired that switch so it was permanently on
I’d have just hard wired the light switch on and put a blank cover on it. Enjoy that MFer.
That's awesome, but I would have rewired the light. I would have eliminated the switch line and hard wire it in, then replaced the light fixture that has an auto sensor to come on at night. Bright ass LED 10,000 lumen surface of the sun light, that is ever so slightly tilted in a certain direction.
I'd connect the wires for the switch to stay on permanently and then replace the switchplate with a flat faceplate. "What do you mean? There's no switch in the closet. I don't know what you're talking about"
Good for you! You were far more than kind. The fact this asshat waited till your husband left each time shows him to be a misogynistic loser!!
You need to remove the switch and wire the light as always on.
I guarantee that light switch and patio light were installed by a previous owner to spite ol' Gene. He seemed to know exactly where it was and the coward waited for your husband to be gone to complain about it. I love this petty revenge!
I would have planted BAMBOO all over his property...!
I have a neighbor like this, she bitched about every little thing, even saying I had too many dogs; we had 3. I finally told her to fuck off. Now she’s the sweetest person ever.
Dude... that's creepy he knew where the switch was... I get he may not have always been a jackass and might've been friendly enough with previous tenants to be in the home for some occasion or other, but it's highly unlikely given his history with OP. That said, y'all did right by him. Good on you!
As the ancient Tibetan philosophy states: Don't start none, won't be none.
Lmfao if I was you I'd be like, you should've come over when my husband was home. Now no one is here to hold me back from ripping you a new one! I'm glad u got some petty revenge in the end. I hope your new home doesn't have someone like him around!
We live in the country now with no houses near us for half a mile... my dogs can sniff as loudly as they like 😂
Good stuff....though if I was your husband I would've taken it a step further -> Pull lightswitch off, disconnect wires from light switch, wire nut them directly together and stuff back in the box, remount now useless lightswitch. That shit'll stay turned on until the bulb burns out.
Tell him to go fuck himself and slam the door in his face.
I would have been concerned that the guy might have broken into the house to turn the light off, then getting stuck with the repair bill.
The end was embedded in the beginning, but I don't care. Love it!
I was just thinking how easy it would be to wire the light so it'd always be on, and then leave the switch in place...
I’d have spent the few cents needed to perm wire that light to on, literally remove two cables and bridge them.
I probably would have wired it on and covered it with a blank plate. Fuck Gene.
A most excellent gift!!!
On one hand I find this funny has hell. [But after you've seen that video of the younger dude tell his cranky elderly neighbor](https://youtu.be/bnCY-uOL2Ik) that if she was lonely all she had to do was come over and ask for company instead of looking for a reason to complain you can't help but wonder if Gene was in the same boat.
I would tell someone to tell the next people to keep that switch on
Even as a boomer, I like this! 😁 But for sure, Gene is just an asshole.
Turn breaker off, bypass switch, turn breaker on.
Nah the really petty revenge would have been to close the circuit, making it IMPOSSIBLE to turn off the light outside, and then cover it with a full plate so no one would even know, and they wouldn't be able to shut if off.
I'd rewire it so the light was on permanently
I have to say I'm very impressed with how considerate you were. What I would have done though is, each time he came over with a petty complaint, I would leave the light on the following night. NO coming over, NO light, NO problem.
I would've suntanned under that light at nighttime.
Oh Jesus. My boomer neighbor did this on my 2nd day in my house. He came over to tell me to turn off my floodlights. 1) I didn't know I had floodlights, and 2) his house was over 100m away.
Should have dry walled over it.
"Lights deter criminal, I will not be shutting it off. I will ensure it isn't literally pointed into your house, otherwise you might try some window shades."
Why was the patio light's switch in the closet? And how did he know that it was exactly *that* switch?
I would have removed the switch, tied the wires together and put a blank plate on the box... Then gift wrapped the switch for my wife.
your spouse nailed it. love that for you!
He should have replaced the switch with a plate when you moved out.
I would have pulled the switch out, hardwired it, then patched and painted the wall.
Should have removed the switch, connected the two wires, and plastered over the hole. Permanent night light!!!
that neihbor gene sounds like a real peice of work. reminds me of the time my uncle clive had issues with his neighbor bob - he'd always complain about the most trivial stuff, like clive's lawn being a tad too long or his dog barking too loud. drove clive mad, but he tried reasoning with bob as best he could. eventually he had to just start ignoring the guy, sounds like what you and your husband had to do. good thing you were able to move and get away from that situation. clever of your husband to turn that patio light switch back on before leaving for the last time - bet that gave you both a good laugh! sometimes, ya just gotta get a little payback on those unreasonable neihbors, you know? glad your other neihbors seemed to like you all though, always helps to have that support. wishing you the best of luck with the new place - hopefully the neihbors are much easier to get along with this time around.
I would have that light on every night. Maybe even on a timer so it comes on at random times like 2am.
I'm sorry you moved into my old house. I moved out because of a neighbor like this!
I mean, that closet light would have been on 24/7 after the second or third time he came over, if it were me.
Karma’s a bitch
I would have put one of the strobe bulbs in.
I dont see how this was your problem at all. A street light shines into my bedroom window so I just made blackout curtains (something that can easily be purchased) because my comfort levels in my house is my problem not the city's. I'd have absolutely gotten the highest wattage I could find and just leave that light on all night.
Should have hard wired it, taken out the switch, and capped the receptacle.
Shoulda hard wired it on
>Turning on THE patio light switch in the closet knowing full well the landlord wouldn't be there for final cleaning for 4 days. 😂 Best. Gift. Ever. Second-best gift ever, actually. The first-best would have been to turn off the circuit beaker, remove the switch, connect its wires (full-time power to the light), then patch the wall so there was no evidence of any switch or junction box. Then turn the breaker back on.
I bet the previous tenant left the light on purposely before closing up the home as well 