This Too Shall Pass

 Well, the meeting with the city was very disappointing. Everyone was there. 

The neighbors will not allow us to dig up the pipe, so a new line will have to be run. It will cost us in the neighborhood of $10,000. 

The neighbors were aggressive and hostile, and had a lawyer, a smooth talking guy, who said, "You have my sympathy..." 

'No. No I don't believe we do...' Of course, I did not say that outloud, but as the song goes, he 'reeked of insincerity'. 

One of two things has happened here. The line from the demolished house was capped by the city. The man who did it claims that nothng  was 'y'ed' off of it. Something seems to have been. Or the pipe could have been damaged by heavy equipment. We will never know because we cannot dig it up.

The plumber got so angry, he got in his truck and left. 

We met up with him later. 

He said, "They are just awful, awful people. That city guy made me so mad, I knew that I was going to lose my temper. So I left. I'm sorry." 

We could not disagree with his assessment, and since I had to walk away, I couldn't fault him for leaving either. 

We mapped out the path forward. 

Yeah. We could waste an awful lot of time trying to fight this legally, but in the end, I think the best thing to do is to fix it as quickly as we can for the tenant's sake. 

As far as the neighbors? I don't even know what you do with people like that, but what I do know is that we are going to take the high road on this one. We are not going to throw good money after bad, trying to prove a case that we are not able to prove. I'm also thinking that the city screwed up too, but they are going to be concerned about covering their asses on this one.  

You know the funniest thing? I have never talked to the neighbor lady before. Not one word. She snapped, "Sure, you can go ahead and dig....after you pay us half the demolition costs." 

Stupified, I said, "Why would we owe you half of that?" 

She believes that we reported them to the city for a derelict property. I said, "Becky, we absolutely did NOT report you to anyone. If that's what you're upset about,.."

The city official waved his hand impatiently. "That's not why we're here..." 

I bit back the "Listen, asshole, I didn't bring the topic up," and went inside to speak with our tenant. And to cool down. Those two things. 

I said to the tenant "I don't understand it. I've never saiid a word to the woman before today." The tenant knows that feeling. She told me that the neighbor glares at her in a shockingly hateful way every time she sees her. They've never spoken either. 

I said, "Well, all I can say is that if she shows up with a plate of cookies, telling you that she's heard you've been sick...DON'T EAT THE COOKIES! That's how people wind up on Dateline."

Good to find the humor in the situation. 

This too shall pass. 

Someone repeat it back to me please! I need to hear it from someone else.