The other day, I stumbled on a free movie on YouTube titled The Good Neighbor, a thriller released in 2016. The film is about two friends whose idea turned into an experiment with an elderly single man whose wife died of cancer; lived alone across the street. The movie is interesting and a bit funny; it shows humans’ tendency to push themselves and others beyond their limits. Left to an individual’s free will to stop whenever desired, it is not the same when being driven by another to your victory, that is theirs indirectly. This movie, however, was not a victory for the elderly neighbor in competition of a game. Secret intentions of one friend’s abusive family past injected into the experiment resulted in the psychological effect on the neighbor to the point of delusion that led to his death.
The movie is given a thumbs up for its written content. A thumbs down for the lack of self-control and mental balance neither of the characters were forced to show the other. Sending the message what is done in the dark is all well and good. And that was not all; the conclusion displayed how juries are often misled by the rule of law, which releases criminals back into society and places those innocent of crimes behind bars.
The Good Neighbor reflects similar situations I presently endure within my building unit. I became suspicious on the first day of requesting cable service and being denied. After pleading my case with the company, I told them that what happened with the previous tenant had nothing to do with me. I was later approved to be given service. This was between 2006 and 2007 when I moved up to a new unit in the building.
While I was busy trying to meet my responsibilities, I often came home to find lights left on due to me coming in late at nights to find them off. I know it happens to the best of us; we become forgetful at times. In my book Until My Dying Day, I touched on memory loss due to Transient global amnesia, which is a sudden loss of memory one can recover from within 24 hours. Most suffer from this type of memory loss, and long-term memory is similar in nature.
Getting back to the point of discussion. While the reoccurring incidents continued, I started to monitor the situation and myself. Another reason for the Chapter in my book: You watching me, watching you, which is also the title topic of a Facebook post of mine. However, while monitoring the situation, I discovered my memory was indeed in tip-top shape. Laugh-out-loud. The laugh was on the ones responsible for their wicked deeds. They did not stop with the lights; they were trying to send my mind into mental chaos, for at other times, the unit door would be unlocked in coming home. On many occasions, call for the building security and police showed me as forgetful. Situations became so stressful at home, with business associates, and socially that I began isolating myself from others. I was partly thankful for a pandemic restricting outdoor activities and social gatherings.
Once in a while, I must leave the unit for a part-time job I am fortunate to still hold. However, this year has seen me less often at work due to suffering from a painful rick and overly tiredness. Now, more advanced in ways of manipulation, they are into my computer’s work and sounds within the unit at times. The Good Neighbor is up-in-your-face bold aggression of those unaware of their illness. An illness known as Conduct Disorder. It is a mental disorder of childhood or adolescence characterized by repetitive and persistent violations of the rights of others and of social norms and rules. This includes bullying, aggressive, or threatening behavior towards people and animals, deliberate destruction of property, deceitfulness, or theft, with the behavior causing significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.
The good book advises in Matthew 5: 44 that I should keep praying for those who are my enemies, which I continue to do. With the question: when will they stop my Lord!
Reality and Fantasies
I wish I hadn’t broke that dish, I wish I was a movie-star. I wish a lot of things, I wish That life was like the movies are. -A.P HERBERT, It May Be Life, But Ain’t it Slow?
Bible read: Matthew chapter 5
Better The End 