My neighborhood is full of unusual characters, many of which are the reason I don't spend much time in my front yard. The following live either next door or across the street (names have been changed):

Patti: 50-yr-old single woman who used to be a nurse and who suffered some sort of nervous breakdown a few years ago, resulting in the loss of her nursing license. It's sad, but all she can talk about are the lawyers and "white collar criminals" that screwed her over. Or how sick she always is.

Leslie: biologically a 50+ female, but appears to be a man; almost always drunk. Has talked us into letting her borrow our portable CD player, but never returned it on time. When she does, it reeks of cigarette smoke. Has "flirted" with my husband on various occasions telling him "he looks like a man, he walks like a man, he talks like a man....does he know any other MEN?" Yuk. I'd hate to be a fly on the wall in her bedroom.

Billie: another architect who lives next door. He is gay, which is fine with me, but our houses are about 12 feet apart and we have caught glimpses of activities through his window that we would have preferred not to see. His latest potential plan is to move his house to the back of his lot and create a sunken garden in his front yard. Fine...but please don't create a mosquito pit next door to my house.

Jack: 50+ carpenter who lives in a huge house that is filled with lumber, gadgets, and miscellaneous junk/cool stuff. His wife no longer lives there. Although she moved north to take care of her parents, we're sure she's frustrated by living in a house that has been in that state for so long. She's also an architect. I'm sure their house will never be finished, which is sad.