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it's not 10 yet When I pulled up and parked in the middle of the street, turned off my car, and got out I could instantly tell where the source of the thudding bass was. The windows and front door were open in the duplex, so not only was the sound of the music playing on the stereo escaping without any hinderance, it was quite easy for anyone passing by to also see what was going on inside. As I stood there a young man came into view, and I clearly heard him tell an older man sitting on the couch that he was heading to bed, but that didn’t mean he needed to turn down the music. How ironic, because that was the exact reason I was there; to ask him to turn it down. Using a single crutch, I made my way to the front door of the duplex and knocked. Beer in hand and wobbly in step, the guy on the couch rose and covered the distance from where he’d been sitting and drinking to the door with a scowl on his face. When I calmly and politely asked if he would turn down the music his very first reaction was to look at his watch and tell me it was not yet 10 / ten.  I don’t know about where you live, but most places in Oregon require you to quiet the fuck down at 10pm. It’s a basic show of respect and courtesy that far too many people have to be forced into, or punished in some way for not complying. I personally don’t understand the frame of mind that goes with this sort of behavior and attitude, but I feel like a broken record saying it again. The rudeness of others will forever be an issue with me, and frankly it just gets worse every year, so what’s the point in any of this? I just want to get the hell out of here and escape to my spot in Southern Oregon. When I was a and a I had no regard for others, and while in my early 20’s I was definitely guilty of being a selfish asshole, but then I managed to grow up, mature, evolve. If the guys in the duplex had both been youngish I might have understood, but the man who was clearly King of the castle was definitely an adult. Probably older than I am. His attitude is; I don’t care if it bothers you or anyone else, the law says I can be a jerk until 10pm and that’s how I intend to live my life. If it didn’t affect me; if I didn’t have to hear the bass from their stereo while trying to sleep or watch a movie I wouldn’t care what they, or anyone else did. People should have the freedom to do as they please but I strongly believe being a good neighbor means curbing that desire to blast your stereo so loudly it can be heard 3 / three blocks away. That’s just me though - and every day that goes by I feel that is more a literal truth than ever. It’s “just me” that feels this way. So how did my petty grievance play out? Did the mean man turn down his music, or did we argue, or what? The truth is I did my best to remain calm and rational, and the result was decent enough I suppose. The music stayed at a lower volume while I returned to my car and drove home, but a few moments later it was back up to the previous level that had attracted my attention. The guy believed that by law he had 40 / forty more minutes to play his music as loud as he wanted to, and he was correct, and he was going to give me the middle finger and go for it. Feeling angry and powerless, I was forced to turn on music of my own to drown out the bass from his. Though I remained proud for not acting like an unhinged lunatic I felt no better about the situation, and know it is going to be an issue many times over in the coming months. Summer and good weather is upon us, so it’s bound to get worse before it gets any better. People like this uncaring prick will want to take their good times and “fuck everyone else” attitude outside, which brings them that much closer to me. Yep, I predict a rough summer full of confrontation and frustration. |
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