Crazy-free Cul by Margaret Ullrich

There had been other craziness:

B had burned all of A's financial papers - not good for someone with his own business.

There was a scorch mark in the yard, near A's bed.

A had thought that was where B had cremated his dog.

After having allowed him to do his business in the house for a few months.

Yes, B's dog had died.

The storage shed is packed with wood - source unknown.

All the usual items of western civilization - dishes, linens, lamps, etc. - had been tossed into the garbage used in the blockade in the house.

There's a weird squiggly path from the street to the door.

B never shoveled the concrete path.  

All winter.

A Manitoba winter.

B had walked on the lawn and created a hardpack path.

The hardpack had turned to ice and killed the grass.

In a weird squiggly path.

B had run up quite a few bills on their charge card.

A is negotiating with bankers, lawyers, etc.

He's hoping the bank won't take his house.

When he left, B had taken all of A's clothing.

B had left his clothing, which didn't fit A.

Remember, A had been refered to as 'the little guy'.

A had bagged B's clothing and asked B's relatives in Brandon to trade with him.

Wonder what B did to send him to the Psych Ward of the Brandon General Hospital?

Again.

That evening, the futon frame, which had leaned on our shared fence, was cut apart.

The pieces were placed in the rollaway garbage can.

Well, that was the last we've seen of A.

He basically has to start over.

Not fun when you're over 50.

Like I said a few months ago, it's one thing to see this on TV, another to live near it.

Since he left the house, B had been trying to call A.

B was ignoring the rules of the peace bond.

Well, since when did B think laws applied to him?

He had his own way of doing things.

What he called, 'flying under the radar'.

It's a little awkward in the cul-de-sac now.

Folks are wondering about A.

Why he had let B into his - and our - lives.

B had been A's choice... and A was over 40 when they met.

It's not unusual for teenagers to be charmed by kids 'on the wild side'.

The kids who have more nerve than brains.

But kids outgrow this need to push the envelop.

Long before reaching 40.

Neighbors are swearing they'd run, not walk, away from someone like B.

Someone who 'follows his own rules'.

Someone who 'flys under the radar'.

Some say it's time to avoid someone who tolerated such behavior.

Some say it's a case of domestic abuse.

The little guy was scared.

We all agree on one thing.

We'd never let a bum like B into our homes again.

Ever.