Article November 27, 2006 Issue

PEACE ON OUR STREET

How one man prayed to replace vengeful thoughts with a truer concept of his neighbor and his home.

BY MICHAEL TAYLOR

WE HAD BEEN neighbors for many years. He had his quirks and wasn't very social, but we'd occasionally shared a meal together, worked on joint projects, greeted each other at the mailbox, and chatted on the street in front of our homes. He'd even called on me when he'd faced some serious family issues.

Suddenly, though, all that changed. I had been working on a drainage pipe problem out in front of our house that threatened to wash out a hillside and roadbed. My neighbor's abandoned truck was parked over the storm drain I needed to access in order to make the repairs, but he ignored my repeated requests to move it. Finally, after several days, I was at my wit's end, and I asked a passing sheriff on the street if he could help with the dilemma. The sheriff "yellow tagged" the vehicle, which required my neighbor to move his truck within 72 hours or it would be towed away.

Well, when he saw that yellow tag, my neighbor became incensed. He yelled and cursed at me—and soon had some men pull the nonfunctioning truck over in front of our house, announcing that from then on that space was permanently his to park all his vehicles for as long as he wanted.