When my neighbor wouldn’t turn off his bright floodlights at night, my husband and I needed a clever solution to keep the peace.
When the Thompsons moved in next door, they seemed friendly. My wife, Gia, and Susan, the neighbor, quickly bonded while chatting over unpacked boxes. We thought we finally had some neighbors our age to socialize with. Mark, the husband, was often away for work, while Susan stayed home and had a long list of phobias, including fear of the dark, thunderstorms, snakes, clowns, and spiders.
As time passed, Susan’s fear of the dark created an issue that affected Gia and me. Their floodlights, installed soon after they moved in, were excessively bright, like those outside prisons. Gia joked that they could probably be seen from space.
Despite our attempts to address the issue, Susan insisted she needed the lights on for safety when Mark was away. We tried thick curtains and rearranging our bedroom, but nothing helped. After a week of sleepless nights, I approached Susan, asking her to turn off the floodlights after midnight, as they shined directly into our bedroom. She explained her need for safety and refused my suggestion to install a timer.
After several attempts to reason with her and Mark, who felt similarly protective of Susan, we continued to lose sleep. Frustrated, I considered drastic measures, like unscrewing the bulbs or using a pellet gun, but Gia reminded me to stay calm. Instead, she suggested a harmless plan while she and Susan went out for nails.
The next day, I climbed a ladder and slightly unscrewed each bulb to disrupt the connection. That night, when Susan turned on the lights, they flickered and went out. Gia and I finally enjoyed peaceful sleep. Surprisingly, days turned into weeks, and the lights stayed off.
However, one day, I saw Mark fixing the bulbs again. The floodlights blazed back to life that night, and I knew I had to repeat my trick. This cycle continued for months—every time Mark tightened the bulbs, I loosened them.
Then one Saturday, as I trimmed the hedges, Mark approached me. He mentioned his floodlights kept going out, and I managed to keep a straight face while agreeing it might be due to vibrations from the street. I suggested he could leave them off, and he seemed to consider it. After that conversation, Gia and I enjoyed our peaceful, dark evenings once again.
Michael Bublé breaks down in tears over son Noah’s health issues
Loved by millions, Canadian-born singer Michael Bublé reached worldwide fame back in 2005 with his album It’s Time and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible, which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200, and several others.
Over the years, the Grammy Award winner has sold over 75 million records worldwide, but despite the enormous fame he enjoys, he has stayed grounded.
Michael is married to Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato with whom he has four children.
The couple’s son Noah, who will be 9 this year, has gone through an ordeal when he was diagnosed with liver cancer at the age of just 3.
At the time the singer heard the devastating news, he was promoting his ninth studio album Nobody But Me. It was shortly before performing at The One Show on BBC One in London.
“Three minutes before I came on, my wife texted and told me something was wrong,” he said during an interview with U.K.’s Evening Standard in July 2018, and added, “I just died.”
Luckily, Noah is now in remission, but Bublé described the ordeal as “the worst possible thing that you could hear as a parent, and as maybe a human being.”
“I much rather would have it have been me. Many times I wish that it had been,” the musician said and added that the experience made them even stronger as a family and gave them a new outlook at life.
On Noah’s eight birthday, Bublé shared an emotional post on Instagram, writing, “Today my hero turns 8. I’ve never met anyone as brave… I’ve never known anyone as kind or as good-hearted… and I’ll never truly be able to express how proud I am, or how deep and profound Mommy’s and my love is for you. You’ve blessed our lives in every way.”
Along with the touching message, the musician shared two photos of him and Noah over the years.
Bublé said that the prayers they received by fans, friends, and strangers helped them in their battle against the cancer as a family.
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