Way to make a first impress: New neighbor an ***

[Amaris]

Have some fun - Record a VHS tape of you flicking her off and saying the Postmaster has been informed of her thievery. Then send it to yourself and see if she takes it.

There's no reason to make this into a feud if it doesn't have to be.

Plus, that's extremely immature.

And, more importantly, visual evidence that you did it.


J.

 

[John Picard]

There's no reason to make this into a feud if it doesn't have to be.

Plus, that's extremely immature.

And, more importantly, visual evidence that you did it.


J.

Well, if anything, it would draw un-needed suspicion and make him appear guilty.

 

[RoJoHen]

The flag on a standard mailbox can be put up as a signal to the mailman that there's something in it for him to collect. However, they're mostly there out of tradition these days; I think the mailman is required to check the box for outgoing mail regardless.

Aha! Sorry to DP but this is totally new...
Your mailmen will actually collect post from your house

Yes. If the flag on the box is raised, then that means the mailman has to pick up outgoing mail that's in your mailbox.

You bring up a point about mail theft, which was very bad in many areas back in the mid-1990's (check washing scams being one facet); however, as I pointed out -- don't fuck with the US Postal Service. Tampering with the mail is a Federal Offense punishable with large fines and/or prison. Amazing as it is, passers-by generally don't tamper with people's parcel deliveries and such.

Indeed. It's generally understood that you just don't fuck with people's mail. I mean, you see older movies where teenagers are driving around hitting mailboxes with baseball bats, but I've certainly never seen anything like that in real life.

Unless you count the time when my grandma accidentally drove into our mailbox and destroyed her side-view mirrow.

 

[trampledamage]

I've seen Murder In the First, I'm never messing with the US Postal Service.

 

[nevermore]

I mean, you see older movies where teenagers are driving around hitting mailboxes with baseball bats, but I've certainly never seen anything like that in real life.

Oh, that does, actually happen.

 

[RoJoHen]

I mean, you see older movies where teenagers are driving around hitting mailboxes with baseball bats, but I've certainly never seen anything like that in real life.

Oh, that does, actually happen.

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

 

[nevermore]

I mean, you see older movies where teenagers are driving around hitting mailboxes with baseball bats, but I've certainly never seen anything like that in real life.

Oh, that does, actually happen.

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

Well, the last time I actually knew anyone who did was 1995 or so (they got caught and the neighborhood made them buy new mailboxes for everyone ).

My dad's mailbox gets knocked down about once every other year though. He's out in what passes for the boonies here, and I'm guessing there's not much for kids to do out there or something.

 

[John Picard]

Oh, that does, actually happen.

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

Well, the last time I actually knew anyone who did was 1995 or so (they got caught and the neighborhood made them buy new mailboxes for everyone ).

My dad's mailbox gets knocked down about once every other year though. He's out in what passes for the boonies here, and I'm guessing there's not much for kids to do out there or something.

Come out where I live and you'll see it. Usually, after someone has had a mailbox mangled, the replacement is made of ¼" plate steel that encases a mailbox and is attached to a piece of 6" diameter pipe. I've also seen mailboxes constructed purely of ¼" plate steel with a functioning door and a flag. One such person who made one found a pile of glass shards by his sturdy mailbox about a month after it was installed. The theory is that the perpetrator was leaning out of the front passenger window, hit the box, and the resulting force cause the bat to bounce back and strike the rear passenger door.

What a fitting end to a vandal's evening of entertainment

 

[nevermore]

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

Well, the last time I actually knew anyone who did was 1995 or so (they got caught and the neighborhood made them buy new mailboxes for everyone ).

My dad's mailbox gets knocked down about once every other year though. He's out in what passes for the boonies here, and I'm guessing there's not much for kids to do out there or something.

Come out where I live and you'll see it. Usually, after someone has had a mailbox mangled, the replacement is made of ¼" plate steel that encases a mailbox and is attached to a piece of 6" diameter pipe. I've also seen mailboxes constructed purely of ¼" plate steel with a functioning door and a flag. One such person who made one found a pile of glass shards by his sturdy mailbox about a month after it was installed. The theory is that the perpetrator was leaning out of the front passenger window, hit the box, and the resulting force cause the bat to bounce back and strike the rear passenger door.

What a fitting end to a vandal's evening of entertainment

Oh yeah, a couple of people on the street have built up whole concrete fortresses for their mailboxes to cower in. My dad just doesn't care; he keeps a few spare standard mailboxes in the shed because they barely cost anything and he doesn't want to bother with extreme measures for a mild annoyance. Which, come to think of it, is rather unusual for him. I suspect he may have some sympathy for the kids who do it or perhaps might actually think it's funny...

 

[Amaris]

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

Well, the last time I actually knew anyone who did was 1995 or so (they got caught and the neighborhood made them buy new mailboxes for everyone ).

My dad's mailbox gets knocked down about once every other year though. He's out in what passes for the boonies here, and I'm guessing there's not much for kids to do out there or something.

Come out where I live and you'll see it. Usually, after someone has had a mailbox mangled, the replacement is made of ¼" plate steel that encases a mailbox and is attached to a piece of 6" diameter pipe. I've also seen mailboxes constructed purely of ¼" plate steel with a functioning door and a flag. One such person who made one found a pile of glass shards by his sturdy mailbox about a month after it was installed. The theory is that the perpetrator was leaning out of the front passenger window, hit the box, and the resulting force cause the bat to bounce back and strike the rear passenger door.

What a fitting end to a vandal's evening of entertainment

Ah, sweet sweet justice.

J.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Just met the new neighbor...and got accused of stealing her mail.

Apparently someone sent her a videotape and she's not got it yet, so she's been going through my mailbox looking for her mail. And her friend said the tape should be here, so I must have stolen the tape. She actually asked (demanded) to come in the house and search for the tape. I told her no. She says if she has too she'll get a warrant. I just tell her "Have a good holiday" and walked off. Last thing I need is a feud with crazy bitch neighbor.

Yeah, she's going to be a fun one to have around.

Tell her to call the cops, and then when they're there have her go over her story again with them present. Ask her about the "looking in 'my' mailbox for 'your' mail." as I think you have a low level Federal Offense there.

 

[ByrdMan]

Does it still happen? Seems like an 80s thing.

Well, the last time I actually knew anyone who did was 1995 or so (they got caught and the neighborhood made them buy new mailboxes for everyone ).

My dad's mailbox gets knocked down about once every other year though. He's out in what passes for the boonies here, and I'm guessing there's not much for kids to do out there or something.

Come out where I live and you'll see it. Usually, after someone has had a mailbox mangled, the replacement is made of ¼" plate steel that encases a mailbox and is attached to a piece of 6" diameter pipe. I've also seen mailboxes constructed purely of ¼" plate steel with a functioning door and a flag. One such person who made one found a pile of glass shards by his sturdy mailbox about a month after it was installed. The theory is that the perpetrator was leaning out of the front passenger window, hit the box, and the resulting force cause the bat to bounce back and strike the rear passenger door.

What a fitting end to a vandal's evening of entertainment

You have to be careful with that... In some areas, putting up an indestructible mailbox is illegal. In MN at least (and I'm assuming in rural areas, mostly), if you have a lot of snow on the ground, plows occasionally take out a box inadvertently. The city would rather pay for you to get a new mailbox then having to fix and expensive piece of city equipment. You could also get some dumb kid trying to whack the thing with an aluminum bat, and breaking his arms or falling out of the car and killing himself or something. You can bet you'd get sued, even though they were attempting to destroy your property.

 

[Australis]

Here Down Under, outback, anything can be made into a mailbox. Old fashioned milk canisters (the big stainless steel ones), broken fridges, any old bit of farm equipment that can keep the rain and the dust off. Plenty of photos online if you're curious.

 

[freak]

The only way to respond to lunacy is with lunacy. For example:

Crazy neighbor: "I know you stole my video tape!"

A measured response: "Madam, I don't steal things, and quite frankly, if anyone stole your video tape, it's that damnable Abraham Lincoln who keeps stalking me from the bushes. I can tell it's him because his stove pipe hat sticks out of the hydrangeas and I'm very certain I have not installed an oven in my bushes, so once more, please keep your dog away from my Stormin' Norman lawn dart collection, as they were a gift to me from his sainted mother, Leona. Also, I'll thank you to not stare at my genitalia. I will not remove my pants, and you may not perform the heimlich on my person, so quit undressing me with your eyes. I bid you good day."

J.

OMG!!!! That's freaking HILARIOUS!
That neighbor of yours needs to contact her so-called friend and ask him or her if they have sent the tape yet. Some people have short term memory loss and can't remember from one day to the next what they have done with the things they have sent? Plus, it's close to the holiday season so things can get really lost in the mail. She needs to look around and ask before she goes about accusing others of stealing her mail.

 

[trampledamage]

Here Down Under, outback, anything can be made into a mailbox. Old fashioned milk canisters (the big stainless steel ones), broken fridges, any old bit of farm equipment that can keep the rain and the dust off. Plenty of photos online if you're curious.

And now I am! I shall be off googling Australian mailboxes if anyone needs me

 

[Alidar Jarok]

You could also get some dumb kid trying to whack the thing with an aluminum bat, and breaking his arms or falling out of the car and killing himself or something. You can bet you'd get sued, even though they were attempting to destroy your property.

They would lose. Their contribution to the negligence far outweighs anything they'd have on you (the exact rules vary by state, but I doubt any state would be set up where they have a good shot of winning). The thing about the plow makes sense, though.

 

[RobertVA]

Many places in the US have zoning regulations that require permits to build substantial structures like those pretty brick and stone mailbox enclosures. That combined with many zones having setback requirements (distance between the structure and the edge of the lot) would interfere with the legal instalation of the enclosures. The fact that any usable mailbox would probably need to be beyond the household's lot (within the city's/county's right of way for the street) would be a factor as well.