Why I Don't Like the Neighbors or, Why the Police Were at Our House at 1:30 am

Friday was our anniversary. Five years. That's some crazy shiznit, no?

And let me warn you here, there is going to be swears in this here post, so if your delicate self isn't a fan, you may want to stop reading. I'm just trying to be nice.

Anyway, I was sick on Friday. We had a special meal, special drinks, special dessert, and Jeremiah surprised me with some gorg. lilies. We're both poor, so we both agreed simple celebrations this year.

At around eleven, a party at the house behind us really started picking up. And I could swear that I heard someone say, "I dare you to jump in the pool." which is ODD, because the neighbors behind us don't have a pool. Interestingly enough, WE DO. So I kicked Jeremiah and he got up, looked around, and proclaimed that all was good.

Except it wasn't. Things got loud. Then really quiet. Then super loud. And then, no joke, I heard someone trying to get in our house through the sliding door. I could hear the lock catch as they repeatedly tried to pull the heavy slider open. It's directly below the balcony and our bedroom, so it was loud. I kicked Jeremiah (again) and told him that there were people in our backyard. He's up faster than you can say "Why the face?!". He races downstairs with only his cell and boxers and goes to the slider. At this point, I hear voices and feet on the rocks outside our bedroom side window. I look down, and there are people hopping the fence. I pound on the window and yell at them to get the FACE (I didn't say face) out of my yard and then yell to Jeremiah that they are out front. He's on the phone with 911 already, and the people are running away from him (gotta love the thought of him standing there all tattoo covered and boxer-clad scaring the shit out of some idiots).

And at this point you are probably wondering, "Emily, are you making this shit up?" And the answer is, no, my friends, I am not.

The 911 dispatch person explains that someone had called the police on the party and they were on the scene. The kids (high schoolers) had been trying to escape. So they had hopped the five foot brick wall into our yard and tried to get into our house. We said we would like to file a report or complaint or whatever. We wait for the police to come. For an hour and a half.

As we wait, I bet Jeremiah that the police will say, "Kids will be kids" and nothing will be done.

Guess what? Nothing was done. Apparently there were a TON of kids there and they didn't have the time to cite anyone for underage drinking or supplying alcohol to minors or trespassing, or anything else.

In fact, in the lovely state of Arizona, it is completely legal for people to flee a scene using YOUR property as long as they are just trying to get to the other side. S'okay.

And it is okay to try and get into someone's house as long as you don't use force. Even though the intent to get in was there, they didn't break anything and they weren't going to do anything to us, they were just "in self-preservation mode".

Are you shitting me?

As a teen I NEVER tried to get into anyone's house that I didn't know. And how the hell are kids supposed to grow up to become responsible adults if they are never even held responsible for their actions? At some point, it's not "kids will be kids" anymore.

The kid that had the party? The police let the parents deal with it. Nothing filed, nothing done at all. I just don't get it.

So I'm pissed and not seeing the point of being a property owner if my property is free for everyone to use at their leisure, including the occasional tug on the door...