Unnecessary Drama

Drama, while at times an acceptable form of entertainment, has a way of almost always overstaying its welcome.

“Don’t feed the crazies” I first heard from gay husband. It was in reference to our lovely neighbors at the fabulous condos where we currently live. Although a relatively small complex, Drama is never absent there. It may express itself in the form of underhanded acts by some of the residents towards other residents and/or their guests, or the passive-aggressive method of attacking neighbors thru anonymous complaints to the management agency by residents, or through the grunting responses articulated by particular residents when addressed in any form- greeting or question. Drama is always roaming, waiting to cause an eruption of some sort, waiting there like a bad case of the flu even after you overpay for an innefective flu shot.

This complex, formerly a dilapidated, semi-abandoned, borded-up crackhouse, parttime whorehouse*, belies its current true nature. Its renovated interiors, its new facade along with the natural setting on which it sits- lake, trees, seasonal geese breeding and all don’t, at first glance, reveal the turmoil behind some of the doors. Because of the stacking order of apartment planning and building, each unit is extremely close to the next, so are the neighbors. It is nearly impossible to go undetected there. Even the most private of individuals finds that at some point a lot of his or her private daily happenings are common knowledge amongst the neighbors. This is mainly true for those residents who are by nature "screamers" and refuse to either permanently affix their headboards to the wall or move said headboard away from the wall- the usual culprits for these offenses are not, how shall we say, the particular kind most people would like to hear cavorting in bed much less have to imagine what they're doing within the confines of their danky condos.

There are also several Gladys Kravitzes in the complex, they know of most walks of shames- whether they be made at noon or at ungodly wee hours of the morning, of random hook-ups between neighbors, of new computers or other costly accessories purchases, of recent break-ups within each condo’s wall, of bouts between roommates even when police presence wasn’t necessary, of impromptu parties that end in debauchery and of many other things that shall remain, for now, unnamed. Of course there's a positive side to all this, since everyone is forever minding everyone else's business and "watching," several car robberies have been stopped while in progress and I'm sure many a break-ins have been prevented as well.

We have a community Yahoo web board meant to be a communication tool for everything relating to these particular condos and the surrounding neighborhood. It usually serves as a place to remind people of meetings, upcoming events and other rather mundane things. Over the course of the last 2-3 years though several “fights” have erupted on that board, these usually culminating in very ugly postings from offended or wronged residents. These online “post fights” escalate until someone gets mad enough to post things they probably shouldn’t and then everyone backing off or someone posting something cheesely soothing to try to diffuse the situation. The usual complaints range from decorating lights placed on common elements by individual residents without proper approval, to dog shit not properly disposed of by pet owners, to leash laws not being adhered to by pet owners with beasts for pets, to unacceptable furniture being placed on common elements, to zillion Big Lots’ resin angel figurines shrines erected for a Bonnie Sue -the dead cat- by individual residents thus scaring off potential buyers, to too many cars parked on the lot by one resident, to yet many other life altering situations that are of the utmost importance to correct right away without delay.

While amusing at first glance, all these complaints, their reporting and the ensuing bullshit can become quite frustrating. Rather than adding extraflammable gasoline to the fires that be, I have started refraining from posting in response to these posts fights- unless something grabs me in such a way that my fingers do the talking before my brain can process the possible outcomes of getting involved in such heart wrenching affairs that is. So while I like to repeat “Don’t Feed the Crazies” it is true I don’t always subscribe to its true message, for what would Life be without the crazies letting loose and creating spectacles for the rest of us to chuckle at every once in a while?

Drama does have its place, however, for how would anyone express his or her overwhelming feelings waiting to burst out of their otherwise empty and sad little hearts if Drama was not part of it all? Drama has its purpose in Life- some of us know that better than others- but just like other volatile-situation-causing substances, all have to watch the amounts of drama they allow into their Life and the amounts of drama they create during their Life- lest they become the drama queens everyone else eventually learns to expertly avoid.

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*Note: Some condos are still believed to be whorehouses due to the flurry of activity in and around said condos and the copiousness of unfamiliar faces entering and exiting the buildings and who knows what else while inside the building.