The night my neighbor called the cops about my moving truck at 6am

I run a small moving company here in Cleveland, and last month I had a job scheduled for 7am. I pulled my truck up to the house around 6:15 to start unloading gear, and my new neighbor came running out in his bathrobe screaming about noise ordinances. I tried to explain I was just idling, not even loading yet, but he called the cops anyway. The officer showed up, took one look at the situation, and basically told the guy to chill out. But you know what, that feedback stuck with me. Now I park two blocks away and walk my equipment over until at least 7am, even if it means an extra trip. Has anyone else had a neighbor blow up over something that seemed totally reasonable to you?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia3171mo ago

Drove home from a late shift once around 1am and my neighbor had his floodlights pointed right at my driveway. I was just sitting in my car finishing a call and he comes out yelling I was blinding his bedroom window with my headlights. My car was off, lights were off. He kept yelling so I just sat there for a solid five minutes with the overhead light on reading a text message. He finally went back inside and I swear he must have been watching from his bathroom window because the light turned off like two minutes after I went in my house. People get weird about their sleep schedules and forget other people exist.

wendy_jackson1mo ago

...and honestly, that's still nicer than what my old neighbor did when I dared to mow my lawn at 8am on a Saturday. I'd been putting it off for two weeks and the grass was literally up to my knees. So I'm out there at 8:05, not even a full lap in, and this guy comes stomping across the street with a tape measure. He's like, "The town ordinance says 8:30 is the earliest, you're breaking the law." I stopped, pulled out my phone, and showed him the exact same town website that said 8am was fine. He just stood there, tape measure dangling, then turned around and went back inside without saying another word. I finished the lawn but I swear I could feel him glaring through the blinds the whole time. Some people just wake up looking for a fight, I guess.