Some Palestinian-Americans--In Their Hearts Still Beduin
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It's sage advice whose jurisdiction extends beyond that of the tourist in a foreign land. It is especially true when you become an immigrant.
I was a Cuban immigrant and we often had problems with the Italians that had come before us. We couldn't understand their lack of neighborliness--especially when it came to their property. No trespassing was tolerated. The Italians taught us the lesson and we learned it well.
I am now that Italian and my Palestinian neighbor is the Cuban and they have a lot to learn and that is why I write this blog telling of my travails with the Palestinians next door and why I ended today's argument with me calling her a "terrorist." I've written it as a play.
[Day One. Spotting the the Dish Installer in my driveway, I approach him.]
Me: Hey, make sure you clean up after yourself. Don't leave any debris in my driveway. The Cablevision people leave stuff behind and I won't tolerate it.
Dish Installer: I am not like that. I'll clean up.
[Day Two. The same installer has returned to do some more work and I ask him to move his ladder. He does, and I go to do the first leg of my shopping. I return in under an hour and he's still there. I enter the driveway.]
Dish Installer: I'll move the ladder.
Me: You don't have to, I'll be leaving soon.
[Later, I return. The installer has left and in my driveway are a few small pieces of black cable. I take pictures of it and go home to complain to the Dish Customer Service.]
Dish customer service: We can't help you unless you tell us your neighbor's account number.
[I lost my cool and after many expletives I end up talking to a man who says he will file a damage complaint and that I should be hearing from someone in 3 business days. I end up telling him that it is in his best interest to take care of it today. I hang up amicably.]
About two hours later, I spot the cable installer parked on the sidewalk and soon he and my Palestinian Neighbor's Wife ring our doorbell. I go out with my camera in tow.
Neighbor's wife: What debris? There's no debris here. [I look and sure enough, there's nothing there.]
Installer: Is this what you're referring to, he asks, picking up a small black rock.
Me: No, they were right here and I have the pictures to show you if you're interested. [at that the Palestinian admits to having removed the pieces beforehand. Had I not had the camera with me, they would have succeeded in painting me a fool.]
Cable Installer and Palestinian: In any event, those pieces were black and as you can see, a white cable was installed.
[momentarily flummoxed, I regain my senses]
Me: show me the white cable going up to the dish [I had noted that the cable in question was black]
Dish Installer: No, I didn't have to make a cut there. Those pieces were probably from the last time someone did work here]
Me: really? Those two pieces have stayed there over a year in the middle of the driveway and my car has never crushed them? [there was no rebuttal to that point]
Palestinian: Why didn't you ring my bell to tell me about the garbage and I would have removed it? Why do you have to go getting him in trouble?
Me: What? Is he your cousin, I asked; perplexed that she would want to defend the installer of a multi-billion dollar company.
Palestinian: NO. [I turn to go back inside but decide to pursue something else that was bothering me]
Me [to installer]: There's something else I want to mention to you. Why did you place the dish so that it overhangs over my driveway?
Dish Installer: [politely inquisitively] Do you own the air?
Me; Yes. What if I decided to build a cantilevered addition to my home and placed it over her airspace? Of course, I own the airspace, and when I find out the legality of it, I'm going to pursue it some more. The Palestinian says she's "going to do the same to me" and continues her tirade against me but I'll have none of it.]
Me: blah, blah, blah. Terrorist! [I turned away and headed indoors leaving the Dish Installer and the Palestinian standing on their stoop]
Although the installer may not have been related to her, he may have been Arab because that is the only reason I can come up with for why a Dish Customer would come to the defense of a Dish Installer when it was no skin off her back [I did note, however, that the installer went to see the Palestinian instead of approaching me directly to apologize and to say that he was going to clean up after himself]. No doubt, they were getting their stories straight. But one thing I've learned about my Palestinian Neighbors wife is that her excuses are glib and easy to spot as the dumb excuses they are--like when her daughter got paint on my car [same driveway] and she glibly said, "what do you want her to do? It was windy."
[Note: Why am I having all these problems with installers? The reason is that there is no space between my driveway and the side of their house and their installations need to be grounded to the power line casing which happens to be next to my driveway. It's hard to find the pertinent law but they tell me that the law demands that they use the aforementioned ground and that --again, according to them--they can't install a new ground on the other side of the house.]
I was a Cuban immigrant and we often had problems with the Italians that had come before us. We couldn't understand their lack of neighborliness--especially when it came to their property. No trespassing was tolerated. The Italians taught us the lesson and we learned it well.
I am now that Italian and my Palestinian neighbor is the Cuban and they have a lot to learn and that is why I write this blog telling of my travails with the Palestinians next door and why I ended today's argument with me calling her a "terrorist." I've written it as a play.
[Day One. Spotting the the Dish Installer in my driveway, I approach him.]
Me: Hey, make sure you clean up after yourself. Don't leave any debris in my driveway. The Cablevision people leave stuff behind and I won't tolerate it.
Dish Installer: I am not like that. I'll clean up.
[Day Two. The same installer has returned to do some more work and I ask him to move his ladder. He does, and I go to do the first leg of my shopping. I return in under an hour and he's still there. I enter the driveway.]
Dish Installer: I'll move the ladder.
Me: You don't have to, I'll be leaving soon.
[Later, I return. The installer has left and in my driveway are a few small pieces of black cable. I take pictures of it and go home to complain to the Dish Customer Service.]
Dish customer service: We can't help you unless you tell us your neighbor's account number.
[I lost my cool and after many expletives I end up talking to a man who says he will file a damage complaint and that I should be hearing from someone in 3 business days. I end up telling him that it is in his best interest to take care of it today. I hang up amicably.]
About two hours later, I spot the cable installer parked on the sidewalk and soon he and my Palestinian Neighbor's Wife ring our doorbell. I go out with my camera in tow.
Neighbor's wife: What debris? There's no debris here. [I look and sure enough, there's nothing there.]
Installer: Is this what you're referring to, he asks, picking up a small black rock.
Me: No, they were right here and I have the pictures to show you if you're interested. [at that the Palestinian admits to having removed the pieces beforehand. Had I not had the camera with me, they would have succeeded in painting me a fool.]
Cable Installer and Palestinian: In any event, those pieces were black and as you can see, a white cable was installed.
[momentarily flummoxed, I regain my senses]
Me: show me the white cable going up to the dish [I had noted that the cable in question was black]
Dish Installer: No, I didn't have to make a cut there. Those pieces were probably from the last time someone did work here]
Me: really? Those two pieces have stayed there over a year in the middle of the driveway and my car has never crushed them? [there was no rebuttal to that point]
Palestinian: Why didn't you ring my bell to tell me about the garbage and I would have removed it? Why do you have to go getting him in trouble?
Me: What? Is he your cousin, I asked; perplexed that she would want to defend the installer of a multi-billion dollar company.
Palestinian: NO. [I turn to go back inside but decide to pursue something else that was bothering me]
Me [to installer]: There's something else I want to mention to you. Why did you place the dish so that it overhangs over my driveway?
Dish Installer: [politely inquisitively] Do you own the air?
Me; Yes. What if I decided to build a cantilevered addition to my home and placed it over her airspace? Of course, I own the airspace, and when I find out the legality of it, I'm going to pursue it some more. The Palestinian says she's "going to do the same to me" and continues her tirade against me but I'll have none of it.]
Me: blah, blah, blah. Terrorist! [I turned away and headed indoors leaving the Dish Installer and the Palestinian standing on their stoop]
Although the installer may not have been related to her, he may have been Arab because that is the only reason I can come up with for why a Dish Customer would come to the defense of a Dish Installer when it was no skin off her back [I did note, however, that the installer went to see the Palestinian instead of approaching me directly to apologize and to say that he was going to clean up after himself]. No doubt, they were getting their stories straight. But one thing I've learned about my Palestinian Neighbors wife is that her excuses are glib and easy to spot as the dumb excuses they are--like when her daughter got paint on my car [same driveway] and she glibly said, "what do you want her to do? It was windy."
[Note: Why am I having all these problems with installers? The reason is that there is no space between my driveway and the side of their house and their installations need to be grounded to the power line casing which happens to be next to my driveway. It's hard to find the pertinent law but they tell me that the law demands that they use the aforementioned ground and that --again, according to them--they can't install a new ground on the other side of the house.]
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