When Jake moved in next door, he wouldn’t stop mooching—borrowing my hose, blocking my driveway, using my bins. I finally told him off, and the next morning, “Lazy freeloading bum” was spray-painted on my lawn.
That’s when the feud began. I sent him a giant inflatable Santa in a swimsuit—middle of July. He stole my bins; I installed cameras. He complained to the city; I baked cookies for everyone but him. He vandalized my fence; I caught it on video and got the HOA involved.
Jake escalated—trash, noise, even slashed tires. So I turned my lawn into a showpiece with a sign that read, “This Peace Was Earned.”
A month later, his house went up for sale. He was just renting—and his cousin kicked him out.
After he left, I found a note:
“Maybe I went too far. Maybe you did too. Don’t let anyone take your peace again.”
Lesson learned: peace isn’t given—it’s earned, sometimes with patience, humor, and one inflatable Santa.
