An excerpt from Chapter 32: Jerry confronts a neighbor about the volume of the music they play: He decided to try and do something about the situation. He could ask his neighbors to turn it down, couldn’t he? If he asked politely? Not much later, Jerry walked down the stairs, approaching the new house boat. “Hi there! Anybody home?” He wasn’t sure anyone would hear him over the noise. He walked up the plank, and knocked on a beam. He called out again. At last, the door of the small room opened and a young girl peeked around the edge. “Oh, hi, how are you? Can I talk to you for a moment?” She looked at him curiously, but said nothing. “Could you turn that down, I would like to talk to you.” She finally emerged from behind the door and gave Jerry an agitated look. She walked over to the boom box and turned it down. “Thanks! Hi! My name is Jerry; I live upstairs, over there.” He pointed to his balcony. “I was wondering if you could keep the music down a little. It’s very loud and it bothers me. I am working up there, you see?” he lied. “No.” the girl said. “No? Uh, I’m sorry, did you say ‘no’? Why not?” “This is my house and I can do what I want.” “Well, yes, of course, as long as it doesn’t bother anybody else, right? I am asking you politely to do me a favor…” “Look, this is my house, and I can play my music in my own house!” “Yes, miss, but your house doesn’t have any walls, so I wouldn’t even call it a house. But yes, you have the right to play your music in your house, but not in mine. And it’s so loud; I can hear it all the way up there…” “Look, Mister; if you don’t like it, you can go back to your own country. This is my house and I do what I want! If you don’t want to hear it, go live in the jungle!” “Miss, if you want to blast your music, maybe you should go live in the jungle, where it doesn’t bother anyone. This is not Belén; this is a quiet neighborhood.” “Look, Mister; no gringo is going to tell me what to do, okay? So get lost!” She turned around, walked over to the stereo and cranked it all the way up. She turned and headed back to the room. Jerry stepped onto the raft and walked up to the stereo. He grabbed the chord and pulled the plug out of the socket. Silence. The girl’s face, distorted with rage, erupted in an avalanche of curses and four-letter words. “Listen to me, Miss Potty Mouth!” Jerry yelled in her face, trying to shut her up; “It’s very simple. Either you turn it down, or I cut the electricity cable! It’s your choice!” The girl was still calling him names as he climbed up the stairs, back to the house. Two men sitting on a wall nearby gave him an appreciative smile. The music resumed before he even made it to the door. Upstairs, he found a pair of scissors. He went outside, to check out the black cable. He was weary, of course, that he would get an electric shock if he actually cut the wire with the scissors. It didn’t take long to determine which one of the blue meter boxes belonged to the new house. A small, metal hatch with a glass plate not only permitted him to see the meter; it also had a small tab you could lift with a finger. Behind it was a switch. Jerry walked to the top of the stairs and looked at the house boat below. Music blaring, nobody in sight. He turned and took a few steps to the meter box. He lifted the tab and flipped the switch. Ah, silence! He let out a deep sigh, and returned to the top of the stairs. The door of the small room flew open and the girl stormed out as if she’d been stung by a wasp. She was speechless with fury; her mouth wide open, she scanned the area at the top of the stairs and saw Jerry. She stood, staring motionless, as if in utter disbelief. Jerry took the scissors from his pocket and with a triumphant smile held them above his head. “Did you cut the cable?!” the girl yelled while she walked up the plank. “Did you cut the cable?!” she yelled again, still in shock about what he had done. “Of course I did!” Jerry yelled back, as the girl climbed the stairs. “You didn’t want to listen, did you? You play your music loudly, I cut the cable. It is as simple as that!” “You are going to pay for that! If you cut the cable, you are going to pay for that!” She’d reached the top of the stairs and was checking the cable, but of course she couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Confused, giving Jerry a suspicious look, she marched back and forth between the top of the stairs and the meter box, but she couldn’t figure out what he had done. “Turn it back on!” “Will you turn down the music?” “I said; turn it back on!” “Only if you promise to turn it down. It’s very simple.” She was fuming, breathing heavily through her nostrils, but she didn’t say anything. “Will you turn it down?” Silence. “Will you turn it down?” “Okay!!” She knew she’d lost the battle. She growled, like a wild animal, turned around and stormed down the stairs. Jerry walked up to the meter box and flipped the switch. Not much later, the music came back on. It was still too loud for his taste and he whistled loudly to get her attention. She was watching him. He made a universal ‘turn it down’ gesture with his hand. She did. Jerry knew that it wouldn’t last. He would have to start looking for a new place to live.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:47:29 +0000
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