I love hanging out on my stoop. I’ll take my coffee, books, journals, laptop, wine and friends and spend hours out there enjoying the air, my yard and the passersby. Being that I spend so much time out there, I have often wondered what my neighbors can see from their viewpoint.
A few years ago, Not So Little Man and I had stopped by a neighbor’s house across the way and, while there, noticed it gave us a good indication of their viewpoint. Thus, we decided to visit several neighbors’ stoops to get their viewpoint as well. Although some stoops had relatively decent views of my stoop/house, it appeared my space was still relatively private.
That was until my neighbor (who has always been a McCreeper) directly across the street from me lost his job, his dad moved in with him, and they repositioned his adirondack chairs to the spot on his deck that is directly across from the bistro set on my stoop. With nothing but time on their hands, they sit on the chairs – from the crack of dawn until the moon goes down, or until my friends and I go inside – and stare. They don’t drink, read, write or talk, father McCreeper occasionally smokes a pipe or cigar. They just sit, stare at my stoop, me, my friends, and creep us out.
I’ve told several people, “If anything ever happens to me, check them out first. Seriously. I think I’m going to wake up one day to find them standing next to my bed. Staring.” Those who haven’t experienced ‘them’ firsthand think I’m joking. Those who have had the great displeasure of being in the viewpoint of the McCreeper family know the comments are made with merit. Fred Rogers used to sing, “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” Good question, Fred. Good question. The people in my neighborhood, specifically the people directly across the street, are father and son McCreeper.
