"We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbour."
~ Gilbert K. Chesterton
Well, oddly enough, our next-door neighbor has literally lost his marbles. This young man, one who we've known for about 8 years or so (though he's only lived next door about 5 of them), has fallen to paranoid schizophrenia. And while we've known that his family is a bit challenged in an emotional way (a kind way to say that they're darned hard to get along with), we never figured that he would have this sort of trouble.
It's sad. To see someone behave so irrationally is odd at best. He thinks that someone is in his house constantly, leaving him notes and changing his locks. He thinks that they're re-wiring his house. He hears noises in the attic. He has a screwdriver jammed into his floor, and says that he talks to his dad through that. And all of this has happened in the last couple of weeks, but we've only been aware for a week. Today he's playing with his electrical panel, believing that someone's been tinkering with that. Can you imagine?
His family is NO help, vacationing in Florida now with an out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality. He lives alone, so can act any way he chooses. Again, it's so sad.
Now we have to monitor the little girls' and dogs' noises in the backyard so as not to make him fret. Not that he would, but you never know. This is our mantra now---you just never know.
If you feel of a mind to pray, his name is Jeff and we do love him. He doesn't have a life of faith, so that's a missing link, but he sure does have a need. We figure that there will come a time when this all catches up with him, but until he or his family commit him, it's just a waiting game.
Will probably post updates from time to time, to remind you of his ailment and as a prayer bookmark. I do appreciate it. Don't know what else to say, but what I already have.
