Tuesday 6 July 2010

The Secret Cutter

Photo copyright: Maggie May

Following the post I wrote about chimes, several people have told me they like the sound and no one has said that they find them annoying. My friend was very generous to buy me the above set and she had been invited round to our house and we had been out in the garden and she was thrilled that I liked them as much as she did.

I was startled last Sunday morning by a terrible crashing noise on my garden path and as I was near the window, I actually witnessed the new chimes falling to the ground. When I got outside within a few seconds to investigate, there was the sound of running feet and a back door slammed shut. There had been a shadowy figure that I glimpsed through chinks behind the fence.
The large chimes were on the path and had been cut through on all four strings where they were attached to a hook, which was still hanging on the branch where it had been situated. Nearby was a smaller set of chimes and these had been chopped from the branch near a seat where I often sit with a book. On closer inspection I realised that the large set must have been cut with long handled choppers which were poked through my tree. My garden is surrounded by 6 foot walls. The shrub that they were hanging on is very tall and dense but there was a smallish gap just above the larger chimes where they had been severed. This is where the cutter must have poked the shears. The distance was about 3 feet.
Fancy doing that in broad day light.

Its not as though we live in a really quiet place. We are surrounded by traffic noises and at the back it is quite heavy at times. There is the sound of a yapping dog, a piano playing, radios sometimes blaring and quite often there have been construction workers with hammers and drills. Well all these things might be irritating but they are all part and parcel of living in a fairly busy city area.
Give and take, I always say.

If someone had come and politely told me they were upset, then I would have probably taken the larger chime down. However because of the sneaky, malicious way that it was cut....... I repaired it and have hung it nearer to my house. I know that it is possible to buy 20ft loppers so I hope they will remain safe!
In the mean time I have been called an *evil, autistic woman.* Not quite sure why I was called autistic. A bit of an insult to autistic people, I think.

Why are people so intolerant of each other these days?
How would others handle this situation?



33 comments:

Sueann said...

Boy! That is beyond rude!! I know some people don't like chimes but come on...cutting them down??!!
I would definitely hang them back up and go out and buy 6 more even bigger ones. LOL!!
And the name calling I don't get at all. I mean is this grade school again?? All you can do is shake your head and move on. Obviously someone is a brat!! And I am being kind here!!
Good luck
Hugs
SueAnn

CiCi said...

Like you, I would have moved the large chimes closer to the house or on the other side or even inside so I could run my hand past the chimes as I walked by. I know some people have a hard time with certain sounds. I guess you have a neighbor with this problem and not the nerve to come and talk to you.

Lakeland Jo said...

Good grief. I can hardly believe my eyes reading this. How horrible. As you say- there has to be better ways of dealing with this? To be honest- it sounds like Midsommer Murders. I do think tv is responsible for a lot of bizarre behaviour these days...
Sorry to hear about your chimes!

Working Mum said...

Oh my goodness! I can't believe someone did that! I would certainly repair them and rehang them. Sounds like you have a very childish neighbour. Let's hope they grow up soon.

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

What a terrible thing to do and how rude. And to call you names into the bargain. Outrageous! I'm with slommler - I'd go out and buy more! But good for you for re-hanging them - it's your garden. A x

Monalisa said...

That sounds scary to me and who is calling you that name...

Deb said...

WOW...I can't believe that someone would be that rude and disrespectful...I also would have hung them back up again. The nerve of some people. And by the way...I have just about driven myself nutty. I had wanted to send you a piece of snail mail and your brother sent me your email address awhile back...and for the life of me I can't find that email...grrr...my email address is mrskelley2u@hotmail.com I just have a little something for you that I can't send over the computer. ;) Just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking of you and praying for you. Take care !

sgreerpitt said...

I would be inclined to consider it the result of teenage (or younger) pranking rather than adult attack, but who knows these days. Certainly is disturbing. I'm constantly amazed by what people will do to avoid having even the least threating confrontation with another person. Rather than ask someone to stop a behavior they'd rather call the cops or take furtive action. But what surprised me the most recently was having someone I went to civily and complained to about noise tell me that they'd rather I call the authorities than come and confront them! That truly shocked me. They didn't really want me to call the authorities (as I discovered later) but just simply did not want someone to come and talk directly to them about something they were doing.

Rosaria Williams said...

I can't believe the audacity of people! So glad you hung them back.

VioletSky said...

Okay, I will quietly admit to not particularly liking some chimes, especially on windy days. But, I would NEVER stoop to such maliciousness. And I would have done just as you did, if they were mine, with a new addition every week.

Mimi said...

Maggie, I'm in shock!
I'm very glad that you were able to stand up for yourself, and hang them back up.
Really, if someone has a problem, why can't they be adult and come talk about it? I'm sure you'd be lovely if they approached you.

Rose said...

How awful! I think you did the right thing in repairing them and hanging them up again. If the neighbor was annoyed by them, the polite thing to do would have been to ask you to move them. But I can think of a lot more annoying sounds than wind chimes. Some people are just plain rude; well, this is mean-spirited, not just bad manners.

Kim, USA said...

So may weird people now a days. If a person doesn't like the sound of your chime, why go to the extent of cutting and why not knock on your door and as a neighbor ask to take out the chimes, right? Be civil!! I guess that word is forgotten already?? ^_^
Good thing you transfer the chime to another location. And don't mind with those naming names, nobody cares but be careful you have a neighbor who is weird!!
My 2 cents!


ABC Wednesdsay~Y

Bernie said...

Maggie whoever did this, was just wrong. The proper thing to do was to go to your door and tell you that the chimes were bothering him, but to just cut through both sets of chimes was very rude, I am glad you put them up only this time closer to your home. I think I would put a note on them and asked them to contact you if they have a problem.....see what kind of people you are really dealing with.....so unkind really. I have a set a my front door and back door and no one has said anything to me nor damaged them....some people are very strange.
Hope you are feeling well sweetie,
sending many prayers and big hugs..

SandyCarlson said...

That intolerance, that lack of love, seems so common, Maggie. I think we give up on each other so quickly, and we act in anger.

I speak for myself. I am resolved not to say or do anything in anger. I am going to learn again to breathe.

I am so sorry this happened to you. That ain't right!

Unspoken said...

People have such need to control one another in their little universe... Bleh! Maggie, I would have done the same as you :). Who knows what is right or wrong here?

Anonymous said...

Hello dearest Maggie, sorry I haven't been to visit for a while, but do hope you are keeping well.

The chimes aren't my favourite sounds if I'm honest but to have done something like that is truly disgusting; there really are some very rude people.

CJ xx

Suburbia said...

Gosh Maggie, that's shocking. Why on both counts? I am sad for you (and the human race in general)

Sx

Ayak said...

Actually I can only agree with what others are saying here Maggie.
What a nasty thing to do...and you did the right thing.

Ann Best said...

My daughter loves chimes. We have two sets hanging in our house because we don't have anyplace to put them outside. So we're safe!!

What's so disturbing about this is the violation of privacy. Someone coming into your yard and doing such a thing. Some people in this world are very very good, and some are not. So sorry this happened to you.

Cheryl Kohan said...

There's just no explanation for the rudeness of some people. However, the person who did that is more than rude...that person is nasty.

I'm so glad you put them back up. Is there a way to take them inside at night and put them up during the day? For security reasons, I mean.

Thank you, by the way, for stopping by my blog. I do appreciate the visit!

Maria said...

I am so sorry you had to go through that. Along with the good there's a lot of bad out there as well. Thank God, the good usually outweighs the bad by a long shot.

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked. As a man sows, so shall he reap"

Maria said...

I am so sorry you had to go through that. Along with the good there's a lot of bad out there as well. Thank God, the good usually outweighs the bad by a long shot.

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked. As a man sows, so shall he reap"

Beryl Ament said...

I had two sons who were pretty good basketball players and we erected a net for them to shoot baskets. A number of their friends came over after school to play with them. A little raucous, occasionally, but good fun and exercise. One day I received an anonymous note saying, "Noise is pollution too". A polite phone call would have done the trick. That note has stuck with me for 25 years and I recently met a woman from the next street. From her remarks, I knew it was her . . .

Brian Miller said...

that is....i dont even know the word i want to use...dispicable...and to call you names on top of it...got me steaming this morning maggie...

Chloe m said...

Rotten vandals. I would put up another one and get a picture of them next time and give it to the police. But I am vindictive and that is not good either.

I am glad nobody came and cut mine. They are a love/hate kind of sound, windchimes are.

Expat mum said...

I'm a terribly light sleeper so I have to say that if I could hear chimes at night I would be a little upset. However, I would politely ask the owner to take them down or move them further away from my window, and if they refused, well there's not much one can do. Certainly not loop them off in broad daylight!
The fact that the person also cannot even insult you properly shows what level of human we're talking about. Ho hum.

Expat mum said...

"Lop", not "loop". Sorry

RNSANE said...

I am irate that someone would do this kind of thing to you. If the chimes bothered me at night, I would have approached you about that but, in the daytime, no one should have a complaint. Too bad you couldn't have caught the culprits in the act and filed charges.

Eddie Bluelights said...

I'm late visiting, Maggie - sorry!
This is absolutely outragious and I understand she has escalated things by shouting a bawling and threatening and bullying. She is acting like a spoilt brat - obviously she doesn't like people enjoying themselves.
You asked me what I would do - carry on and ignore her.
Play Big Ben striking twelve loudly!!

MarmiteToasty said...

goodness, thats just aweful that someone would do that :( maybe set a bear trap incase they do it again, it will rip their arm off..... as regards the name calling, that is disgusting...... do you want me to come up and do some sorting out, I'll bring 'the boys' ;)

x

Joey said...

Oh my! I just don't understand people. I have four sets of windchimes in the back yard, and it would just hurt me tremendously if someone cut them.

I had a tree that was sick, and the Arborologist that I called out told me that someone had tried to poison the tree.

My neighbor doesn't like our family; his wife does, be he has no use for us. Fortunately, they were able to do a deep fertilization to save the tree.

I was angry, and then saddened by the fact that someone could be so mean.

I don't understand people and their motives.

Nessa said...

Wow. Good thing my husband wasn't there. Someone would get shot for TRESSPASSING. Talk about evil.