Not So Neighborly??

How many of you out there have, or have ever had, a neighbor that just drives you crazy??

As I have mentioned many times before, I live in a very small town. One of the nice things about living in a small community is getting the chance to really get to know your neighbors. I think, in some ways, it has always made me feel safer. Because of this I have always gone out of my way to be friendly- at least just by saying Hello or making small talk if I see one of my neighbors outside.

When my newest neighbor first moved in next door, I was very polite and cordial. I realized early on that he was someone that liked to talk...and talk, and talk and talk. While it could be slightly annoying if I was in a big hurry, I really didn't think it was a big deal. I knew he was out of work and lived alone so I thought maybe he just didn't have a lot of people around to talk to and really felt bad for him.

After a few months I noticed that he seemed to magically appear outside (usually right in my driveway...which is literally just a few steps from his) every time I pulled up or whenever I went outside to get the mail.

I continued to listen to him tell me all about his life, which usually included MANY details that I really did not need to know. Seriously, I could have lived the rest of my life happily without knowing all about this mans recent colon cleanse and kidney stones. That's a little TMI, if you ask me!

His "conversations" have now progressed to him simply spending an hour at a time complaining to me about all of the other neighbors- telling me why he can't stand them and why he is considering suing them all, for a variety of different reasons. I am at the point now where I find myself practically running to the mailbox with my head down and driving into my garage and shutting the door before I even get out of my car, just to avoid him. I have, one more than one occasion, had even had the urge to tell him that the time he spends complaining to me may be better spent looking for a job (which he told me he has not been doing) or maybe actually mowing his lawn or raking some of the leaves hundreds of leaves that have been blowing into my yard.

Does that make me a terrible neighbor???