{"id":15011,"date":"2024-08-15T03:47:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T01:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=15011"},"modified":"2024-08-15T03:47:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T01:47:10","slug":"neighbor-refused-to-turn-off-his-flood-lights-at-night-i-outplayed-him-while-keeping-the-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=15011","title":{"rendered":"Neighbor Refused to Turn off His Flood Lights at Night \u2013 I Outplayed Him While Keeping the Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

When my neighbor stubbornly refused to turn off his blinding floodlights at night, I knew my husband and I had to get creative. Instead of escalating the conflict, we devised a clever plan that solved the problem and kept the peace in our neighborhood.<\/p>\n

I still remember the day that the Thompsons moved in next door. They seemed like a nice enough couple, and my wife, Gia, got on with Susan instantly. They spoke about unpacking boxes while Gia hung our clothes on the line.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA moving van | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

It seemed like we finally had a couple around our age we could sit back and hang out with. The husband, Mark, was a corporate guy, and he traveled a lot because of work. His wife, Susan, was the complete opposite. She was a homebody and seemed to have phobias of just about everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, Anthony,\u201d Gia told me when she was making toasted sandwiches for us. \u201cSusan said that she had a phobia of the dark, thunderstorms, snakes, clowns, and spiders. And she said that even the sound of the wind howling through the trees sends shivers up her spine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA woman toasting sandwiches | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cIs she being for real or just dramatic?\u201d I asked as I poured some juice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea,\u201d Gia replied. \u201cBut it\u2019s just what she told me over the fence now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m reasonable. I\u2019m all for understanding people\u2019s quirks and fears. We all have them.<\/p>\n

But, as time went on, Susan\u2019s fear of the dark led to a problem that quickly started messing with Gia and me.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA woman hiding her face in fear | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

The problem was their damn floodlights over the garage.<\/p>\n

At first, it didn\u2019t seem like a big deal. Mark and Susan got those lights installed after they moved in. And anyway, I had gotten ours installed a few months before as well, but our lights were much kinder on the eyes.<\/p>\n

Instead, their lights were the kind that you\u2019d see in front of a prison or an airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just blinding LEDs, Anthony,\u201d Gia complained after the first night of barely any sleep. \u201cI\u2019m sure that you could see them from space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA house with bright lighting | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want me to talk to them?\u201d I asked her as she put on thick concealer under her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ll speak to Susan,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m sure she\u2019ll understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said that she needs them. Like really, Anthony. She insists that they stay on all night because they make her feel safe when Mark is away,\u201d Gia said, walking into the house in frustration.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA couple sitting and talking | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that,\u201d I said diplomatically. \u201cBut the problem is that they shine right into our bedroom window. That\u2019s not on.\u201d<\/p>\n

We decided not to cause any issues and went out to buy thick curtains and a set of blackout blinds, and once, we even tried to rearrange our bed.<\/p>\n

Nothing worked.<\/p>\n

Every night, I\u2019d lie in bed, feeling that relentless light piercing through, making sleep a distant memory.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA man lying in bed | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

After a week of restless nights, I decided that it was time to approach Mark and Susan. As much as I understood her need for safety, I was also getting irritable from the lack of sleep.<\/p>\n

I walked over one afternoon, catching Susan sitting on the lawn reading a book, and I politely brought up the lights.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Susan,\u201d I started, trying to sound casual. \u201cI wanted to ask if there\u2019s any chance you could turn off those floodlights after 11 or 12 p.m.? They\u2019re shining directly into our bedroom, and it\u2019s been a bit difficult to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan looked at me with a tight smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m so sorry about that, Anthony!\u201d she said. \u201cBut you see, with Mark away so often, I just feel safer with them on. You know, in case anyone tries to break in. I\u2019ve explained it to Gia.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried reasoning with her, but nothing worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can help you install a timer so that the lights switch on and off at certain times, Susan. It\u2019s easy!\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t think I\u2019d feel comfortable with that,\u201d she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for negotiation.<\/p>\n

I walked back home to where Gia handed me a beer and continued making dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least you tried,\u201d she said, looking at my face.<\/p>\n

Over the next few weeks, I brought up the subject a couple more times. I even spoke to Mark when he was home, thinking he might be a bit more reasonable.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, Anthony, do you think it\u2019s easy for me to leave my wife when I go on work trips? I worry about her all the time. The only resolve seems to be these lights. They make her feel safe, and that\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, the lights stayed on, and we kept losing sleep.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when my thoughts started drifting into darker, unpleasant territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I just climbed up there and unscrewed the bulbs?\u201d I asked Gia one morning over breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would take too long,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr I could take them out with the pellet gun. Quick and clean. It\u2019s in the garage somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t you, honey,\u201d she said, smiling. \u201cAs frustrated as you are, this isn\u2019t you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

This was true. I wasn\u2019t about to start a neighborhood war over this.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you could do something harmless,\u201d Gia continued. \u201cSusan and I are going to get our nails done tomorrow. We should be away for an hour. Enough time?\u201d<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

The next day, after Gia and Susan left, I grabbed the ladder from the garage and crept over to the house next door. I carefully unscrewed each bulb a little bit.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to take them out. I just wanted to make sure that by unscrewing the bulb, the electric connection would be off.<\/p>\n

That night, not long after Susan put the lights on, they flickered for a few moments and then went out.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, finally,\u201d Gia said as she turned to her side.<\/p>\n

The next morning, we both woke up feeling more refreshed than we had in weeks. The plan had worked. Gia and I were able to sleep in blissful darkness.<\/p>\n

As I put the coffee machine on, I half-expected Susan to come knocking on my door, but it seemed they hadn\u2019t noticed.<\/p>\n

Weeks turned into months, and still, the lights stayed off. I figured that maybe they had given up on keeping them on all night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they realized that their electricity bill was just too high,\u201d Gia shrugged.<\/p>\n

But one day, out of the blue, I saw Mark tinkering with something outside. He was standing on the ladder, tightening the bulbs back into place.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, that night the lights blazed back on, as if brighter than ever. I sighed, bracing myself for another round of sleepless nights while my wife cursed under her breath. But then I remembered that if something worked once, it could work again.<\/p>\n

So, I repeated my little trick.<\/p>\n

This back-and-forth went on for the better part of a year. Every time Mark would tighten the bulbs, I\u2019d loosen them right back. It became a routine.<\/p>\n

But then, one Saturday morning, as I was trimming the hedges, Mark wandered over. We hadn\u2019t really spoken much since my first confrontation about the lights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnthony,\u201d he said. \u201cHave you had any trouble with your outdoor lights?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrouble? What kind of trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, ours keep going out. And I\u2019ve had to retighten the bulbs a few times now, but they keep loosening up. It\u2019s the strangest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I fought to keep a straight face, nodding sympathetically.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I\u2019ve had the same issue. It\u2019s probably the vibrations from the traffic on our street or something like that. They can rattle things loose over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know how I managed to say that with a straight face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat makes sense,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll just have to keep an eye on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr, you could leave them off. I eventually gave up on mine for the same reason. It\u2019s much less of a headache than having to pull out the old ladder every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark seemed to consider this, then shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, maybe you\u2019re right, we don\u2019t need to worry about that. Thanks, Anthony.\u201d<\/p>\n

And just like that, Gia and I returned to our peaceful evenings of utter darkness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When my neighbor stubbornly refused to turn off his blinding floodlights at night, I knew my husband and I had to get creative. Instead of escalating the conflict, we devised a clever plan that solved the problem and kept the peace in our neighborhood. I still remember the day that the Thompsons moved in next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15018,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15011\/revisions\/15018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}