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The BorD files, episode 6:

I am not very schooled in the ways of the world.  I thought I was, but I
thought wrong.  I bought a house.  Like a dummy, I bought it in a neighborhood
that includes many rentals.  This hasn't been a problem that I was aware of.
I am a live and let live kind of guy.

My neighbors and I are not the best of friends, but we have all talked, and
things have been pretty cordial for the last few years.  Across the street
from me, there have been families constantly moving in and out of the place.  
You never know for sure who is living there.  For a few months a band was
practicing in the living room (the noise never bothered me, and frankly I
couldn't care less what you do in your house if you don't bug me.)

Recently, there has been quite a bit of traffic in and out of the house across
the street from me.  There has been vehicle traffic, bicycle traffic, and foot
traffic.  Again, I say live and let live.  As long as I do not know what you
are doing, it is none of my business, and have a great day.

Sadly, this state of affairs could not be maintained forever.  This is about to
get complicated.  If I were real clever I would draw up a map, but I am too
lazy.  So bear with me.

The house in question is directly across the street from me.  My neighbors on
the left walked out one morning and saw one of the guys from across the street
trying to break into their truck.  They called the police.  While I was on
vacation, my neighbor on the right noticed one of the guys from across the
street prowling around between our houses.  

Like I said before, what you do in your house is your business.  You start
doing stuff to me and my house?  Look out.  Call me a firm believer in the 
NIMBY (not in my back yard) mentality.

I have already said, there is a great deal of traffic in and out of the house.
I took the time to talk to the people that live there.  They seem nice enough,
but they also seemed like they were tweaking, speed or meth.  What they did was
their business, of no concern to me.

That soon changed.  I have had enough.  One day, a truck was parked in their
front lawn.  Out of nowhere, a van came along, swerved, and deliberately hit
the truck.  The driver got out, started kicking the truck, and broke off the
driver's side mirror.  I called the police.

By the time the officer arrived, both cars were gone.  I took a moment to talk
to the officer.  He informed me that they thought something was going on in this
house.  (on an earlier visit, the officer had a guy run away from him.  The
suspect thought he had a warrant.  He didn't.  Just who I need living across the
street from me.)

The officer suggested I call the narcotics hotline.  You bet your butt I did.
They told me to write down vehicle descriptions, suspect descriptions, and
license plate numbers.  Then, after I got the information, I could fax it to
them and they would get an idea as to what was going on.  They would know the
best times to watch the house, and the best times to send in undercover buyer
types.

In two days of casual observing (we weren't always home, weren't staring out
the window all the time, etc) we logged 25 visits.  I called the narcotics
detective back, and he said they would drive by and check it out.

In the meantime, I am ready to break out a video camera.  The traffic in and
out of this house is amazing, and a log on paper does not do it justice.  The
other problem?  There are two small children over there, who appear to be 
dirty, and never appear to go out.  I am ready to call childrens protective
services, but who know for sure that it is really drugs over there?  Talk 
about the neighbor from hell, I would feel awful if I turned in some innocent
people.

So here I am, being a narc for the man, hoping to get this criminal element
to leave the neighborhood.  I do not even know for a FACT that this is what is
going on over there.  It is all the circumstantial evidence.  The people that
hand over money.  The super quick visits.  The dirt bags that their visitors 
appear to be.  I also do not know for a FACT that OJ is a killer.  But I have
my suspicions.

Hopefully, it will all be over soon.  And hopefully, there will not be any
repurcussions for being a narc for the man.  The last thing I want is to have a
stupid text file on my web site be my final words since I decided to stand up
and take action against possible criminal activity.

UPDATE:
The druggies are gone.  Let us all bow our heads in a moment of silence.
A nice couple bought the house, cleaned out the huge mounds of trash, the 
needles in the backyard, etc, and things are much nicer.  There
is less traffic through the neighborhood, and less need to worry about what
the neighbors are up to.  Let that be a lesson to you.  Being a narc CAN
make a difference.  (This of course is assuming that the calls to the police
actually made a difference.  More likely, the druggies found a place with
cheaper rent and more customers..)

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