[Moogs]

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I am ready to punch my neighbors -whom I've never had the pleasure of speaking to other than one occasion- square in the head. Here's the deal: we've lived in this house a little over a year and at various times have crossed their paths and tried to say a friendly hello in the hopes of striking up a conversation. Instead what we get is silence. It's so fucking ridiculous though because we've had *no* contact or disagreements with these people at all.

At first I thought maybe they were just quiet people or something. But when I would walk near the common fence in our back yard and say "hello" or "sorry about the dogs" when they bark, they literally just walk around stone faced and silent, as if we're not standing there saying something to them. Their kid daughter actually spoke to me once the week we moved in and I picked up one of the dogs and let her pet the dog, etc. One time I threw a frisbee in their yard by accident and figured it a good opportunity to introduce myself. I rang the bell, the lady answered I smiled and introduced myself and asked if it would be all right if I could get the frisbee. She said "hi, yes you can get the frisbee"... and that was it. No small talk, no welcome to the neighborhood, nothing.

That's the last word any of them has said to us, other than "thank you" (from the fucking street) when I bought 4 boxes of girl scout cookies from her kid last spring. Just today the little boy threw a ball over to our side of the fence and the dog got it. I immediately retrieved the ball, dried it off and walked to the fence and said "are you guys missing a tennis ball?". They didn't even fucking look at me. I lobbed the ball over the fence turned around and tried very hard not to tell the lady and her little kid to fuck off. I succeeded but now I am pissed.

I realize the world is different now; I don't expect pleasantville. I don't expect neighbors to bake cookies and bring them to our door the day after we move in. What I do expect is a friendly hello if nothing else. Fucking self-righteous snots. What the hell is wrong with people? I mean if I lived next to a neighbor I actually had a reason not to like, and they said hello, I'd say hello back anyway just to not be an asshole.

I am SO tempted to run right up to the fence every time I see them now and do my best Don Knots:
"HOWDY NEIGHBORS! GREAT TO SEE YA!" That'll ensure they never step outside when I'm around again... dickheads.