Kim, I accept/appreciate the sentiment conveyed in your above post. I continue to feel, though, that if one must use Holy Writ to justify a position OR to instruct others, then it's important (especially given the tenor of our times) to be very sure that whatever divine dictum invoked is quoted with accuracy. With all due respect, I think you've read into the verse you cited something that simply isn't there. That directive & its accompanying promise appear multiple times in both Testaments. In every instance (and in all of the several translations I'm aware of) the adjective modifying "long life" is either "thy" or "your", NEVER "their". So, everybody, we can lighten up and be of good cheer -- God is not going to off mom & dad before their time simply 'cause (like me) you were an insufferable young hellian. On the other hand, as a result of those juvenile trangressions, we maturing delinquents may rapidly (and deservedly?) be approaching our own personal, sadly premature end of days. :-) Since, unfortunately, we're in the mode, I might as well remind the peeved here of the sacred injunction regarding the casting of stones (that would be John 8:7). To any who maintain that they were never in the grips of an irrational snit with a parent (and vocal about it) allow me to say this: Get real. I don't believe a word of it.

I started to browse through this website forum since I needed to gather data on the issue of noise on condo complexes and hear what the current and/or past tenants of condos) have to say about their actual experience when living in a condo. Although I found many comments to be appropriate and suitable for the subject matter that written/posted by Vendora, I found quite a few commenters� posts simply to be offensive and inappropriate such as the one posted by Mike_Pam, chinacat_sunflower, GammyT, and so on! Just simply look and listen carefully to their tones and motives that they have written behind their comments. So, is it really true that their intent is good, pure, and positive or rather is the opposite�meaning trying to take control and show pride of themselves or their egos to others whether they realized it or not? For example, how is it that Vendora was making a poor choice in moving into the condo complex when she obviously did not foresee nor knew in advance that there would be such horrific noise issue inside her condo unit right after she moved into her condo unit as what chinacat_sunflower clearly and inaccurately stated? How is it that Mike_Pam trying to help the nature of the issue when he obviously distorted his true intention in the forum as if he was giving the right and appropriate advice to Vendora when what he said and posted on his comment clearly is an insult and mental assault not only to Vendora, but to the nature of the subject matter and to the forum as a whole? Then, the next commenter (GammyT) after Mike_Pam posted his comment even aggravated the assault to Vendora and reminding that she ought not complain about the people above her and that is nothing she could do, etc.! As you all can see and understand, these commenters obviously get the kick out in deliberately saying untrue and destructive things to people, especially to the subjects (i.e. Vendora and other similar condo tenants) who are undergoing the torments of noise issue from neighbors�to even make the nightmares to be much worse and more intense than ever before! It is one thing to give advice�meaning the right and appropriate advice; but it is another to insult, assault, and annoy others (i.e. Vendora) simply because that commenter wants to show off his or her ego and would say and do anything to put others down and make others look bad when these showoff people are the ones who needed help and needed to take a good look at themselves and to cleanse their unhealthy self-esteem and self-image once and for all! In addition, simply because a person raised an issue on certain subject matters; it never meant that this person is asking nor looking for advice nor meant that anyone could say anything and do anything to inflict unnecessary and additional pain to this person as the way some commenters had done to Vendora! This is called maturity, human respect for your fellow human beings and for yourself! Sincerely, Newlifestar

This is a great thread and a great reminder for me to be thankful that I am close to all of my neighbors and forgiving of the things that have recently been driving me crazy about them! Being close to my neighbors is kind of like having a whole big, dysfunctional, extended family within spitting distance (we have tiny lots). Yes, the people next door have loud parties outdoors until all hours, but she also rushed me to the hospital in an emergency once and is always good for a cup of sugar or an egg when I need one. I'm a single mom and when we first moved here, I worked really long hours at my first law firm job. I would come home many (late) evenings to find all of the neighbors and their kids (and mine, with the babysitter) hanging outside, everyone's grills going, people spread out at a picnic table or three eating burgers. I would get out of my car and someone would hand me a burger and a beer. Can't beat that. While I am the only single mom in the 'hood, there are two other women who have husbands who either travel a lot or work nights. We get together at least once per week, sometimes more, and pool our resources for dinner while the kids play. From this group, I have formed a close network with 6 or 7 women. We go away for a weekend retreat every year, help with each others' kids, bring meals when people are sick, etc. And we all work full time outside the home - - this is not a relationship that can only be had by stay at home moms. I think the fact that we work full time makes it all the more important to have that network you can count on when juggling gets tough. When I was recovering from surgery, two of my neighbors brought me dinner at the hospital, the others all came and either cleaned for me or brought food for the next several days. At one point I was having difficulty breathing (anesthesia reaction) and my doctor said to go to the ER. I called my best friend to ask if she or another friend could take me, and I kid you not, within 90 seconds one of them was flying through my front door. You don't get that kind of response time from EMS! Another time, when DS was only 7, I was working at a firm 45 minutes away and a new babysitter missed meeting the camp bus to pick up my son. He neglected to call me, instead asking for a neighbor to help him look for my son (bus policy was to let the child off whether a parent was there or not). That neighbor called me at work instantly, which allowed me to get in touch with the bus company while the neighbor organized a search party. There were several elderly neighbors home, so they all went out looking for the next half hour, until the bus company called back to confirm that DS was, after all, still on the bus (the kind bus driver wouldn't let him off despite company policy). These are only a few of hundreds of stories I could tell about us all helping each other in a pinch. I will also say that the emotional support we give each other through all of life's ups and downs is invaluable. I would not have chosen all of these people to be friends with in other circumstances. We come from different backgrounds and have different interests. Frankly, very often we drive each other nuts with our differences of opinion or strong personalities. But living and, in some cases, raising our kids together has given us a sense of common purpose and understanding. If everything was to go to heck in a handbasket tomorrow, I couldn't choose a finer group of people to get through it with.

I can relate to so many of these comments. I feel too, that we are bombarded by fragrance now, and I don't know if I changed or the industry changed - but after 1985 I stopped wearing all perfumes. Before that, I was one of those offenders, wearing Shalimar, Chanel 19, Givenchy, went crazy over them. That was the year was pregnant and had my son so maybe my body changed during that time and never went back. Now, so many things bother me!! Stores filled with candles, eucalyptus, incense, room fresheners, people drenched in cologne, cars with cardboard pine cones hanging from the rearview mirror, or scented with artificial strawberry (that one has to be the worst) - even on the beach this summer, I had to move to a different spot because the person 30 feet away from me had some kind of artificial coconut sun tan lotion on that just reeked. I even have to avoid the aisle in the supermarket where the artifically buttered microwave popcorn lurks. All I can smell is "rancid." LOL. It's banned at home as well - unless I'm out of the house, the kids cannot make it! I'm not allergic in the true sense of the word but get an immediate sinus headache from all these things. I don't use fabric softener or any detergent with scent. It's amazing too, how nice and "crisp" clothes feel when they haven't been "softened" (i.e. covered with a layer of grease). We have a blended family and when my son comes home from his dad's house,and my stepdaughters come back from their mom's, I can smell the Bounce sheets a mile away. That reminds me. We bought a vacation home last year and the previous owner must have read one of those Household Hint columns. There were individual Bounce sheets in every drawer, every cupboard, behind furniture and even under carpets. I'm still looking for them every time I go up there. And I'm sure that on some level, even by my family, I am viewed as a "fussy" person, so I hate making a big deal of it. I know people are tired of hearing me protest. But even chenille sweaters bug me -- blocked sinuses, itchy eyes. So added to all those "oh no, Hon, what's that new smell on you?" comments, my husband has to try to not wear the nice gifts he got from his daughters. LOL, yesterday my son came home with a bag of hazelnut flavoured coffee. I started to rant. Everyone else loves it, and all I can think about is a sandwich place I used to go to at lunch time, where the tuna, roast beef and egg salad sandwiches all tasted like hazelnut coffee because they had a pot of it brewing in there all the time. Revolting! That's my rant over. Thank you for allowing me to express this. It needed to come out! lol Pam