Rednecks

I have to start off by saying I love redneck humor. I think it's because it is so accurate. There is no stretching the truth. Anything and everything is possible. However, with that said, I don't appreciate it as much when our somewhat new next door neighbors fall into this category. Don't get me wrong, nice people, but not the brightest crayons in the box. The couple was born and raised in the South - Alabama to be exact (no offense Keene family members) and then moved to Wisconsin before coming out to Arizona to have kids. Probably the smartest thing they've ever done. Christmas Eve they had several guests over, sporting the tried and true wife-beaters. Tucked in of course. After all, it was a holiday. Fancy clothes. Around midnight on New Year's Eve, we (and some friends/neighbors that were over) made some noise out front, did the popper thingies, and a couple of firecrackers. Now one of these neighbors lives next door and is a police officer. No harm done, nothing extraordinary here, but the neighbors are outside with their kids and a few friends, hear the firecrackers and freak out. They gather the "young" and shuffle them in the house because we were "shooting off guns." Yeah. That sounds like the Peterson Family to me. Because we each got our own for Christmas this year. As a redneck, wouldn't you know what a gun sounds like? And, do you REALLY think the Mesa police officer next door would be shooting his gun into the air in celebration of 2008? (Those of you who know Joe might actually be nodding and thinking, "Yeeeessss, he would ...") I think I finally managed to convince them we were not using weapons as party favors. At any rate, they are an interesting group. The latest is the garage makeover. I'm pretty sure this is now dubbed the "Formal Dining Room/Party Room" ... they have a recliner, a rocking chair, and a few other mismatched chairs sitting around a card table. The music blares from the stereo that's in the mini-van parked on the other side of the formal dining room/party room. I suppose it could be worse. I suppose we could wake up to this in the morning ...