Crazy Neighbor Chronicles: Inappropriate bin usage

I’ve mentioned my crazy, self-proclaimed neighborhood recycling captain, barking neighbor in an earlier post, and I must admit that his eccentric behavior – most often intended to be earnestly helpful – has as of late fallen a bit off my radar. In other words, he has not recently parked himself outside of my sliding glass door (kitchen) and barked at Zoe; he hasn’t accosted me with unending questions about my vehicle and why I should sell it to him; and he hasn’t recently polished my hubcaps to a shine that rivals a mirror’s reflection. (Yes, he has carried out all of the aforementioned on embarrassingly numerous occasions).

Before I explain my recent irritating episode dealt by the hand of my neighbor, I have to add just a tiny bit of back story.

Durham just recently made some major changes to the curbside recycling program. We now have a receptacle just as large as our trash bin for recycling. While recyclables will only be collected every other week as opposed to every week, the larger container (which I must say is far more convenient as it is easier to “wheel” to the curb) should provide most residents with ample room for packing in recyclables.

The new, larger recycling bins were left (one per household) at the end of each driveway in my neighborhood about a week ago. Instructions regarding usage were attached to each of the bins, including the date on which usage should begin. In my case the start date is July 13th.

Enter annoying neighbor – who I realize does a great deal for me – although solely by his own choice. I have never asked ANYTHING of him - not the time, no favors, nothing. In fact, I recently realized that I’ve also never thanked him for anything. I know that makes me sound horrible, but I guess I didn’t want him to feel like he should expect anything in return, nor should he feel expected to continue to do anything for me. I honestly thought he would’ve stopped everything by now, but he remains undeterred.

On to the recent frustration.

As I exited through my kitchen Monday night to retrieve my garbage can, I wasn’t shocked - albeit annoyed - to find that both my trash and recycling bins were missing. The recycling bin - the one we're not supposed to use until July 13th - had been taken from my back yard and filled to the brim with items that were entirely not mine.

I fumed momentarily and then decided to write a note to Crazy Neighbor. I reminded him that the large bins aren’t to be used until July 13th and that he needed to remove his items from my bin so it would be empty when I am ready to use it. I taped the note to my bin and parked it in the middle of his driveway. (This was done after 11 pm or I probably would’ve confronted him directly, as I’ve had to before).

Yesterday morning, my bin remained full and had only been moved to the right of his driveway. Last night upon returning home from work I saw that the bin was no longer there, but it’s also not in my backyard.

Looks like Crazy Neighbor is going to get a visit from Bitterly Annoyed Me on Thursday. RAWR!