A few years ago, I read an article that interviewed immigrants about the one item that reminded them of their home country. I have not been able to find the article to link it.
Basically, they were all asked what one item they had with them in their new country that always reminded them of their home country. Sometimes people immigrate in a state of duress. They are only able to take what they can quickly grab. Other times, people have more time and resources to immigrate and can more carefully curate what they take with them to their new country.
Once the cats have all passed away from natural causes at the normal end of their lives, my goal is to leave the country. That article I read years ago made me think of what one item I would take with me that would remind me of the USA.
In the article, a musician told of a piece of sheet music he has in his native language. Someone else showed a bracelet that had been made by their artisan grandmother. Another person had a favorite book in their native language.
What one thing would I take that would remind me of the USA?
This is a hard question. There is not a lot to be happy about in the USA right now.
Then I happened to think of a treasured item I have in my one box of mementos that 100% would remind me of the USA.
It is my LOVE stamp pin.
The 2023 Love stamp is my favorite US stamp of all time. I ordered so many sheets of the cat and dog love stamps, I had enough to use on all of my Christmas cards for 2024 also.
I bought the Love stamp pin because I enjoyed that stamp so much. It was my first time purchasing anything stamp related. I typically just use stamps to mail my bills and don’t give a thought or care to the design of the stamp.
However, the 2023 love stamp is my favorite. I actively sought it out to be able to use it.
The US postal service holds many memories for me. It was an essential service for my grandparent’s rural farm. They were immigrants here from Austria.
The US postal service is essential in delivering medications and keeping us all connected. I love Christmas cards, birthday cards, and handwritten letters. In a world of increasing technology, there is still something to be said for the joy of seeing a letter in the mail that is not a bill.
When I leave the country, the one item I will take to remind me of the USA is my 2023 love pin.
Being attacked and physically injured by the neighbors in 2023 was a huge shock. I never expected something like that to happen when I bought this house. It was even more shocking and disappointing that when I reported the injuries and behavior to the village and the sheriff department, I was gaslit and experienced retaliation. Other people in the village have also complained about the boom cars and experienced retaliation. The difference between the other people in the village complaining about the boom cars and me is that those other people live on other streets. I live in the house directly across from and next to the houses with the boom cars. It’s worse for me.
In 2024, I decided I need to try to come up with a safety plan in case it happened again. It’s obvious that neither the village nor the sheriff department are going to keep us safe from physical injury. My plan was that we would just leave when they do the boom car behavior.
This safety plan failed epically for multiple reasons. Emboldened by the fact that everyone who complained about the boom cars in 2023 experienced retaliation, they got worse in 2024. They were constant for 18-21 hours a day for at least 5 months. I cannot afford to live in a hotel, apartment, or a second residence for several months per year.
We did spend a night in the car on the side of the road like homeless people. We are not homeless. I own a home. I own property. But I was so exhausted after several months of only 3 hours of sleep per day and blood dripping out of my ears, we needed a break. We slept in the car.
Mind you, the car smells like urine. That was not a pleasant experience. The neighbors have an outhouse directly against my garage, using my garage as the fourth wall to their outhouse. It gets daily use. Not to mention, their children came onto my property without permission and threw rocks at my car, trying to damage and disable it. I was told that their children were allowed to come onto my property without my permission and throw rocks at my car because “they own the street.”
This fall, the neighbors also started blocking my driveway again. Often, I am unable to leave. Once, I went to the pharmacy and was blocked from returning home for three hours. I wasn’t feeling well. I wanted to lie down. I could not physically reach my house.
It’s like playing Russian roulette trying to figure out when I can leave the house when the driveway is not blocked and hoping I will be able to return home.
No, the police will not respond to this situation. I was told it is legal for people to park on the side of the road, even if they park directly in front of a driveway, completely blocking access to the property.
The man who does my snowplowing was not even able to plow my driveway once this winter because they were blocking my driveway with their vehicle. They refused to move the car. I had to pay for snowplowing that did not actually happen because my driveway could not be accessed.
I have been told if I complain about the neighbor abuse again, my cats will be taken and used as bait for the dog fighting ring. I feel like I have used all my options. There is no way to make the behavior stop.
We need to be safe. I now have permanent hearing damage because of their actions. The cats (especially Jolene) do too.
A new safety plan is needed this year, especially since leaving is not an option. They physically prevent me from leaving.
I reached out to a sound engineering company in Pennsylvania run by a retired Navy veteran. I asked them to do an analysis about soundproofing the house – even just one room so we have a safe place. I provided them with photos, videos, and decibel reading of the noise from the boom cars.
The gentleman from the residential section of the sound engineering firm shook his head. He said what we are experiencing far exceeds what is normal in a residential setting. Boom cars are typically illegal, especially in residential areas. The vehicles are supposed to be impounded and the sound systems removed.
I told him there is a NYS vehicle law that states that sound from vehicles is not supposed to exceed 70db at the property line. However, NYS laws do not apply in this village. The village encourages the boom cars.
The residential sound engineer referred me to the commercial sound engineer – this is the person who does soundproofing for things like gun firing ranges.
The commercial person also said what I am experiencing far exceeds even a gun firing range in that the noise I am experiencing is constant, for hours. The noise at a gun firing range is intermittent.
The analysis they provided is that the house cannot be soundproofed for this level of noise. It cannot be retrofitted. The noise I am experiencing far exceeds what people should experience in a home.
They did suggest a room of new construction – new build – be built in the basement with shock absorbers in the walls. They suggested the basement since all the db readings I have recorded are on the first floor of my home. Although, the noise in the basement is bad too. If you set a glass of water on the workbench in the basement, the water in the glass “jumps” due to the level of noise they produce. It’s that loud.
We end up stuck in this house with no way to leave and no way to make it stop.
I feel helpless. No one can make this stop, and no one cares.
I don’t like feeling helpless. I feel like I need to do something to try to protect me and the cats.
We have been working on our tornado training as the result of the tornado we had last summer. The basement is our safe place for tornadoes. While the excessive noise from the boom cars is still excessive in the basement, it’s not as bad (not by much) as the first floor.
So, the basement seems to be the safest place in the house. I say that with a grain of salt. The basement is not safe either. The noise is excessive down there also. Not to mention, the radon in the basement is high. Radon levels are supposed to be 4 or below. Radon levels in our basement are well over 30. I had been saving money for radon mitigation, but all that money has been drained since the neighbors behavior prevents me from working.
With both tornadoes and neighbor abuse in mind, the basement seems like the best bet. Jude and Jolene are trained to go to the basement on their own. Simon is still working on carrier training. He is scared of both the carrier and the basement.
I decided to get two more carriers to put in the basement, that way there are carriers already down there. It makes things easier for me when there is a tornado – Jude and Jolene will go to the basement, I just need to grab Simon. If carriers are already in the basement, then I do not have to worry about trying to grab those too in addition to getting everyone down there for safety.
I bought a roll of mass loaded vinyl and used it to put around the carriers. I also covered them with my old bed comforter. I know that mass loaded vinyl will not help at all with the level of noise we are experiencing from the boom cars, but I feel like I need to do something to keep us safe.
I also got a pair of gun range headphones for me to wear in the basement. They are pretty much a waste of money. You can still hear the booming even with gun range headphones. The noise is that excessive. Still, if there is any way to prevent blood dripping from ears – it’s worth a try?
This is our safety plan for 2025 since our safety plan for 2024 failed epically. In addition to subjecting us to excessive noise, the neighbors are now physically preventing us from leaving. I’m just trying to do the best I can to stay safe. I don’t know what more to do.
At the very least, it will be helpful to have the carriers in the basement for tornadoes. I can put the cats in the carriers once they are in the basement. It just makes it easier for me to get us all down there if there are some tornado supplies already there.
Today is my birthday. It looks like I’ll be getting another ride around the sun.
Birthdays are my favorite holiday. I love being alive. Every time I get a birthday, it’s like a giant middle finger to the world that I was able to survive another year of what life threw at me.
This year, it’s going to be two giant middle fingers.
The past year has been especially hard. I love being alive. It’s hard living in a time of active eugenics when health professionals no longer take any infection precautions and actively promote euthanasia. I have lost count of the number of times this year I have said “no” to the suggestion of the euthanasia clinic.
I remember a time when it was frowned upon to tell people they should die. Now certain people (those with disabilities and certain medical conditions) are actively encouraged. People seem to think I am a burden on society.
I am very happy to be alive. I love being here. I work full time and help the abused cats in my area that have been used as bait for the dog fighting ring. Yet, for some reason, I am one of the ones that is supposed to “fall by the wayside.” People frequently say things to my face like, “why aren’t you dead already?”
The physical injuries and abuse from the neighbors escalated in 2024. I reported their behavior in 2023. Several other houses on neighboring streets made reports also. We were all retaliated against. Since anyone complaining about the boom cars has experienced retaliation, the people who are operating the boom cars got the green light that their behavior is not only acceptable, but welcomed, by the village. Their behavior in 2024 was worse than 2023.
I would like the behavior to stop. I have this expectation that I should be able to live in my home free from physical injury. This is a unreasonably high expectation for this village. The boom cars advertise drugs for sale, and we need to support local business, after all.
Some people have suggested that the way to deal with the neighbor abuse is euthanasia. If you don’t like being abused, you should die.
This does not make any sense to me. Again, I am happy to be alive. I feel like I give back to the community. I ran the book club at the library and served on multiple non-profit boards in the area.
For some reason, the village says that people who live in this area deserve to be abused by the 3-4 houses who do the boom cars. If you don’t like the abuse, have you considered euthanasia?
I would like the abuse to stop.
In the past year, I have been prevented from sleeping for at least 5 straight months. I was purposefully kept awake and only allowed to sleep 2-3 hours a day. We slept in the car on the side of the road. I own a home, but we had to sleep in the car on the side of the road to get some sleep due to the boom cars.
Even then, the car smells like urine. They built an outhouse directly against my garage using my garage as the fourth wall to their outhouse. I smell human waste every single time I have to drive the car to go anyplace.
That is if I am lucky enough to even be able to leave. The people across the street have started the practice again of actively blocking my driveway. They park cars 2-3 deep across the road. I can’t get out. They won’t move the vehicles. Some of the vehicles are not able to be moved, as they are torn apart in various states of dis/repair in the middle of the street.
In addition to the lack of sleep and physical injuries, I missed over a month of work as a direct result of their actions. My employer is being understanding because they know I am experiencing harassment from the neighbors. There are recordings, photos, and witnesses. The sheriff department says videos and photos are not evidence. Witnesses have to be “approved village residents.”
My savings has been drained from all the work I’ve missed as a direct result of their behavior. On top of that, I have medical bills I have had to pay for injuries as a direct result of their actions. There goes money I had been saving for home improvements.
I was planning to make improvements to this house to be a good homeowner and make the village a better place. The village doesn’t want people to upgrade their homes. If the neighbors harass you to the point you can’t work, they don’t care.
All of this is legal, according to the village, We need to support local businesses. The boom cars advertise drugs for sale. If anyone does complain, they experience retaliation in the forms of more serious physical injuries and threats.
So yes, this has been a very hard year. Two very big middle fingers to the world.
I am happy to be alive. I love being here. I give back to my community and try to make the world around me a better place. I’m very glad to have another ride around the sun.
My only wish for my birthday is for the physical injuries from the neighbors to stop. They need to stop with the boom cars. I can take people telling me to die to my face and asking me why I haven’t gone to the euthanasia clinic yet. Yes, that hurts my feelings. But they are only feelings.
Being hurt physically is worse.
No, I can’t leave. The mortgage company will not allow a short sale. These people have tanked my property value due to the bad behavior. They are so bad, the real estate agent will only show houses here in pairs, and houses here are on the market twice as long as any other location in this entire county.
People blame me for not being financially able to leave. They say it’s my fault. It’s my choice. If I do not want to be physically abused living in this house, I can choose to be homeless. I can choose to be euthanized. People have suggested that homelessness and euthanasia are both better options than living here being abused. I disagree.
I love being alive. I do not want to be euthanized. I would not last long if I had to be homeless again. I should not have to be homeless to avoid being abused by people I don’t even know. With multiple homes on multiple surrounding streets complaining of the noise, you would think the village would make it stop. Instead, they encourage the behavior.
So here is to another ride around the sun. The only thing I want for my birthday is for the boom cars to stop. I want to be able to sleep, work, and live my life without having blood drip out of my ears and permanent hearing damage inflicted upon me by drug dealers. I don’t want my cats to be taken and used as bait for the dog fighting ring if I complain again. I’m pretty sure wanting this to stop is a pipe dream, as no one has been able to help. But it’s my birthday, I can dream.
rewindliveslow 