Honk for Harris

 I have lived here for 25 years. A couple of times I have had neighbors contact me in regards to things that bothered them. For example, I had guinea hens at one point because I heard they were good for eating ticks. But, guineas are loud and like to roam. One day my neighbor called me and said my guineas were roaming close to her house and keeping her granddaughter from her nap. I promptly locked them in their pen after that, which was work for me because then I had to supply them with all their food and water needs. (and did nothing for the ticks)

Another time, back when I had the bullmastiffs, I had a neighbor scream that my dogs were "always in the road", so I took my last 300 and bought a wireless pet containment system. Then spent the next week training the dogs to the perimeter (90 feet from the transmitter, which severely limited their range on my property). 

So, five years ago when someone down the road started honking at the neighbor across the road at 6 am,  my daughter and I put up with it for a couple weeks before I finally texted the honker with a request to please stop honking at 6 am. Seemed reasonable. HA

The honkee, never a particularly pleasant woman, had been seeing the king of conservatives for about a year. um, I guess all I have to say is among many things, the guy thought the moon landing was a hoax. So I don't know if he triggered what happened next or not, but can you guess what happened next?

honk honk honk honk honk honk honk. 

Then, honking not getting a response from me, they started driving down the road and setting off packs of firecrackers directly across from me after dark. 

This all began right after my youngest graduated from high school and then went on to college, so here I am alone out in the boondocks being targeted by a group of people. I didn't involve the sheriff, for several reasons. One, it takes them at least 45 minutes to respond, so if they became enraged for me calling the cops, they had plenty of time. Second, the harassment was such that it was impossible to prove because it was hit and run. Third, the person who started it all is a first responder and pals with all the cops.

It was so bad that even a horn on TV caused me to flinch.

Finally, I was able to catch the across the road neighbor honking the whole way by. I called the Sheriff, explained the situation, showed the video, and he promptly went and warned her for harassment and told me to get an order of protection against her. This I didn't do for several reasons. One, it's a 45 minute drive to the courthouse and I was still driving the old Trailblazer, which was so unreliable I used to literally get on my knees and pray it would make it to the grocery store and back without needing a tow. Second, there is a filing fee. Third, it's not just ONE trip to the courthouse, but several.

The warning didn't matter, she continued honking, but just in front of HER house when she left for work. I called the Sheriff again and pointed out that honking there was worse because of the topography, so it was literally like she was honking in my dooryard.

The Sheriff deputies (you get a different one everytime, and have to repeat the whole story of three years of harassment from scratch) then totally blew off any further complaints. One asked why I couldn't just "roll over and go back to sleep?"

Then he suggested I have OCD because it bothered me.

He also told me that she claimed she was "honking at wildlife" and that is what she would say to a judge.

When I showed video on my phone of the incidents, I was told to get a security camera because getting it on my phone was creepy and stalking behavior, even though I took it standing in my own back yard ten feet from my house.

No matter that it is considered by State law to be an illegal use of horn or sounding device, coupled with the fact the intent was to harass me.

So I bought and installed hard wired cams with audio, the dvr, and a monitor at an expense of several hundred dollars.  

Waste of time and money, although I did feel a bit safer in my house, because hard telling exactly what these loonies were capable of. 

Like setting up their firewood processing in the field across from me, where the guy sits in his truck and can see right into my front yard. Or getting permission from the neighbor next door to fence their back yard for FIVE cows-with cowbells. Bonus, creepy bf can now stand in neighbor's back yard and see into MY backyard.

One day last summer I had just crossed the road and walked to the pond and her creepy BF pulls his truck across the access and starts video'ing me on his phone, as I am standing on the shore. I had to walk around his truck to get out, and he said, "now I have you, criminal trespassing"

I wasn't the only one he was harassing at the pond, either. Some of those packs of firecrackers the summer before were lit off mere feet from people's vehicles parked to use the pond, and timed for when the people were coming off. Needless to say, those people stopped going to the pond.

At any rate, I called the Sheriff and asked if creepy BF  had been warned when she was (crickets).

Finally (several days later) yet another deputy shows up (unannounced) and I go through the whole story yet AGAIN, while he is flipping out about the mosquitoes, and terrified of the old gander. He said the ROW was a town issue, and drove up next door. Well, those cows were across the road at the next door neighbors. They had the temporary fence pretty much in the road, which is narrow at that point, so when he pulled in he was maybe 20 feet from the cows lined up at the fence facing him, and they started BELLOWING. Lord, I wish I had been a fly on the wall to see his reaction. Four years of drama and stress and I laughed about that for several days. 

The ROW issue was discussed at a selectboard meeting. I found out afterward that the neighbor admitted there is a public ROW (I had supplied a copy of the deeded ROW obtained online) and that if anyone is being harassed to contact HER. (the harasser) This went over with me like a lead balloon, and I said no, they should call the SHERIFF.

Well, it turns out I was not the only one in town being harassed. One person was having an issue with burnouts. The Sheriffs supplied THEM with a video cam and the town sent the burner a "cease and desist" notice. Someone on yet another road had garbage being tossed in their yard (I had that, too and saw the harasser toss a lit butt in my driveway)-again the Sheriffs supplied a camera. That woman went to a selectboard meeting denouncing it as a hate crime because she is Chinese and felt that was why she was being harassed.

The Chair decided to send a LTE to the local paper denouncing harassing behavior.

Was I mad that I was getting totally blown off and others were being taken seriously? Yep. But, after that letter was published, all honking ceased. That was right before Christmas. Then the honking started up again in April. That was about the time the original honker received a Spirit of America award from the town. (the one who is pals with the cops and is BFF to the neighbor across)

And also about the time the ultra right decided to put a candidate up against the Chair who wrote the LTE. That candidate had a bunch of huge signs printed up filled with lies and misinformation-such as blaming the Chair for high taxes, when the town budget is approved line by line by vote at town meeting-and the guy's biggest supporter (who probably made the signs) had been on the budget committee for TWO years, and approved those budgets before they even went to vote!

Oh, the honkers? Both of them had big signs supporting the new selectman. And he won. The public gloating that ensued, both in LTE to the local paper and online on FB, was sickening.

The honking intensified, and once again I contacted the Sheriff. The deputy I spoke with had responded years ago when I had first complained. He was the follow up after a different one had warned her. I kid you not, in conversation he claimed that he/they didn't know that honking other than to alert a driver was illegal! No, they didn't have a camera that would catch it, and they don't get out this way very often. I asked if I spent several more hundred dollars to get a cam down by the road-with audio-to get drivers and license plates, if they would pursue charges. Couldn't get a straight answer. 

this frustrating discussion even included him trying to suggest if they were on their property it was fine, then when I said, no they do it on the road as they are leaving, he wanted to know if it was a private or public road. 

Basically, cut back to three years ago when I was told to just roll over and go back to sleep. 

Well, I am just thrilled to pieces over Harris. You go girl! So I had this light bulb moment today. How about I make my own sign, "honk for Harris!"?

Then I can attribute future honking to support for Kamala, instead of haters hating. Plus the haters are all Trump supporters. (of course) While she might not mind honking if it is her BFF at 6 am, or if it is them or others she has recruited to harass me, I wonder how she would feel if they might be honking for Harris?

I wonder how fast the deputies will be knocking at my door, or how long the sign would stay unmolested? My Obama sign lasted about a week before it vanished. 

Well, it's food for thought, a bubble in my ocean. 

Honk Honk!