A group of young students moved next to an older neighbor and wouldn’t stop blasting their music. They insulted the older man, but they soon learned that no one should mess with karma.
Mr. Adams had been living in his small two-bedroom house for many years. His dear wife passed away some time ago, and his children lived on the other side of the country. It could get lonely, but his neighborhood was amazing.
He was surrounded by caring families and tons of lovely people, especially next door. However, they were moving away soon because they needed more space for their growing family.
A group of college kids became his new neighbors | Source: Shutterstock
Mr. Adams wished them all the best and hoped that whoever filled that vacancy would be just as nice. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. A group of young college students moved into the house a few weeks later.
They couldn’t be older than 18, which meant fresh out of high school. Mr. Adams dreaded this situation but hoped that this group understood that they had just moved into a quiet neighborhood.
Sadly, he was wrong once again. As soon as they finished moving all their things, the teenagers started having parties. They got loud, and many other young people showed up. They didn’t turn off their music until 5 a.m. on a Monday.
Mr. Adams lived in a quiet neighborhood. | Source: Pexels
Mr. Adams had no idea what to do, but he was thinking of calling the Home Owners Association while watering his plants that morning. That’s when he saw Linda Shaw coming towards him. She lived across Mr. Adams with her husband and two preschool-aged children.
“Good morning, Mr. Adams!” she greeted.
“Good morning, Linda. How was your night?” he said.
“Oh. It was absolutely terrible. I couldn’t sleep for a second. Then my kids woke up around 2 a.m. and didn’t go back to bed until 5 a.m. when the music stopped,” Linda explained. “It’s funny because we have never had problems in this neighborhood.”
Linda came to greet Mr. Adams. | Source: Pexels
“I know what you mean. It was still a nightmare for me, though,” Mr. Adams added. “But I didn’t know if calling the cops was the right move.”
“I almost did it myself, but I didn’t want to cause any issues if they were just celebrating that first night in their new house,” she continued.
“Would the HOA help?” Mr. Adams asked.
“Maybe, although it’s hard to say why they let a group of teens move into this neighborhood. They might have connections,” Linda said. “Well, I’ve got to go. Lots of errands today, and hopefully, I can squeeze in a nap before picking up the kids.”
Mr. Adams had growing concerns about his new neighbors. | Source: Pexels
Mr. Adams said goodbye and decided to talk to these young people if they continued being loud, which probably wouldn’t happen until the weekend. But the neighbors decided to have another huge party that night, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
He went to their house and knocked on the door. A young man opened and frowned at Mr. Adams. “Hello? Can I help you?” he said.
“Young man, do you live here?” Mr. Adams asked.
“Yes. Who’s asking?” he answered.
The neighbors hosted rowdy parties. | Source: Pexels
“I’m your next-door neighbor. I need to ask you kids to keep your music down. This is a nice neighborhood with tons of families and older people,” Mr. Adams said as politely as possible.
“So? That’s not my problem. I pay rent just like anyone else, and I get to play as much music as I want to,” the young man responded rudely.
“I will call the cops if you guys don’t keep it down,” Mr. Adams threatened calmly.
“Go ahead. My dad’s the sheriff at the police station. There’s nothing you can do,” he said and smirked. “Now, go away old dude. This party doesn’t need an old fart hanging around. If you don’t like the music, move to a nursing home.”
A conceited teenager tells Mr. Adams to go away. | Source: Pexels
The teenager slammed the door in Mr. Adams’ face, the old man shocked by such insolence. Was the boy lying about his father? Would the cops really not answer his complaint? He had to try, at least.
But it looked like his neighbor was not lying because the squad car never came, and the teens enjoyed this party until 4 a.m.
“Linda, do you know if we can complain to the HOA about these young people?” Mr. Adams asked that morning after knocking on Linda’s door.
Mr. Adams talked to Linda again about their problems. | Source: Pexels
“I asked around, Mr. Adams. Last night was terrible too. I was on the phone with Mrs. Lowry, who knows everything around here. She told me that one of the teenager’s moms is part of the association,” Linda answered.
“I can’t believe this. One of them said that his father was the sheriff, and it has to be true because the cops never came after I called,” he continued.
“Mrs. Lowry said that we need to file a formal complaint to the local council with several signatures. I think a lot of people will sign it, but that takes time. My husband didn’t get any rest last night either. I don’t know how much of this we can take,” Linda said.
Linda had an idea but it will take time. | Source: Pexels
“Let’s go ahead with the complaint. I’ll help you get the signatures. In the meantime, we can tell everyone to call the HOA and the cops to see if that pressure gets a reaction,” Mr. Adams devised and went back home.
Unfortunately, it looked like these young people were really connected because the calls to the HOA and the cops didn’t help at all. But he and Linda collected all the signatures needed to file the formal complaint. They would have to wait for now.
Meanwhile, the neighbors continued having parties every single day since they moved into that house. Almost the entire neighborhood had knocked on their door to try and reason with them, but they wouldn’t listen.
Their teenage neighbors kept having parties. | Source: Pexels
One night, they added a sign over the front of their house, which read: “NO ONE SLEEPS TONIGHT!” Mr. Adams couldn’t believe this level of disrespect for others.
They even partied heavily during a huge storm. Their speakers were getting wet, but they seemed fine until a huge lightning bolt thundered and seemed to hit their equipment.
The music stopped miraculously, and when Mr. Adams peeked through his windows, he saw that the entire house had lost power. He laughed to himself and thought that nature was getting revenge on their behalf.
A lightning storm cut out their power.| Source: Pexels
He could finally read his novel and slept soundly for the first time in a few days. The following day, they still had no electricity. Apparently, the storm had blown through the outdated electric system at their house.
It took several days before they fixed things up completely. But by then, the city had received the neighborhood’s formal complaint. The teenagers could no longer play loud music past 10 p.m., and cops actually came when they tried to defy this ruling.
Finally, Mr. Adams and the rest of his peaceful neighborhood could continue their regular lives.
What can we learn from this story?
1. Respect your elders. These young people didn’t listen when adults politely asked them to stop, and karma hit them back.
2. Don’t abuse your power. They were also using their connections to break the rules and get away with anything. But they lost in the end.
Share this story with your friends. It might inspire people to share their own stories or to help someone else.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who insults a lady at the mall but gets a huge lesson from his father.
The Outfit That Sparked a Wedding War: Did I Go Too Far…
Claire just wants to be the beautiful mother of the groom. But when she finds out that her daughter-in-law has her own ideas for the wedding, Claire decides to focus on her outfit. This leads to a fight between her and Alice on the wedding day. Alice claims that Claire ruined the wedding by taking her dream dress, while Claire thinks she did nothing wrong. Who is actually at fault?
All I wanted was to be the mother of the groom. That’s it. I just wanted to be a loving mother who adored her son more than anything. But this is the story of how my effort to make my son’s wedding perfect turned into a day we’d all rather forget.
When Mark introduced Alice to us, she was nothing like the person I expected him to fall in love with. Mark, my son, is a lawyer at a top firm, a job he got right after graduating from Stanford.
I’m going to be a lawyer, Mom,” he once told me when he was in high school and working on an essay about his future career.
“I can see that,” I said, making him breakfast as he studied.
“It’s to help fight injustices. For children, specifically,” he added, sipping his orange juice.
Mark had big dreams, and I knew he would always reach for the stars.
Alice was different from Mark. She was light and carefree, while Mark was serious and thoughtful. Alice was a self-taught coder who worked from their cozy apartment. Their personalities, views, and interests didn’t match.
But they made it work—and they were a sweet couple for the most part. But love can be blind.
When Mark proposed to Alice, we were invited to help surprise her.
“Please, Mom,” Mark said on the phone. “Alice isn’t close to her family, so having you and Dad there will show her she’s supported.”
“Of course, honey,” I replied, imagining their wedding.
I put aside my worries and offered to pay for the wedding. James and I had saved money for Mark’s education, but he had received scholarships that covered it all.
“We can use that money for the wedding, Claire,” my husband suggested at lunch the day after the proposal.
“It’s the best thing we can do for them,” I agreed. “This way they can save to move out of that small apartment. I know Mark wants a house with a garden for a dog.”
When we told Mark and Alice, I thought it would bring us closer. I didn’t have any daughters, so I saw this as my chance.
I could get to know Alice better—and it would be good for Mark to see that his wife and mother got along. But planning the wedding only highlighted our differences.
A few months into the planning, I met Alice at a coffee shop to discuss details. But we clashed over everything.
“I think roses are timeless,” I said, enjoying a slice of cake.
“They are, but they’re also overdone,” Alice replied, sipping her tea. “Mark and I want peonies.”
We went back and forth and couldn’t agree on anything.
“How about this?” I suggested. “You pick everything else, and just tell me the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses, so there won’t be any clashes.”
“They won’t be wearing green,” she said. “I’m leaning toward pink.”
I paid the bill, and we parted ways without resolving much.
Then one afternoon, Alice texted me.
“Hi Claire, just picking out my wedding dress with the girls! I wish you were here!”
She attached photos of her top five dress picks.
I knew Alice and I had different ideas about the wedding, but I wanted to be included in the big decisions. I wished she had invited me dress shopping.
“At least she’s sending you the top picks,” James said as he read the newspaper beside me.
“I know, but it’s not the same,” I replied.
“Do they look good?” he asked. “Can I see them?”
We scrolled through the dress photos together. They were fine, but nothing special.
None of them seemed to meet the standard I expected for my future daughter-in-law.
Alice’s favorite dress wasn’t what I expected.
I typed back, telling Alice it wasn’t the best choice and hoped my financial support would matter. James and I hadn’t set a budget; they had everything available to them.
“Why not consider the second one? It might be more flattering for you.”
James chuckled beside me.
“You’re overstepping,” he said.
Before I could respond, I got a message from Alice.
“Sorry, but I disagree. This is the dress I’m choosing.”
That night at dinner, as James plated our salmon, I shared my frustration.
“Alice isn’t even considering my opinion, and I’m paying for the dress!” I said.
James tried to mediate and even texted Mark to let him know how I felt.
“I think you should let them handle the wedding planning now,” he said. “Focus on yourself and your dress.”
Mark eventually convinced Alice to wear the dress I preferred.
I had to admit, it was the easier option, and I hadn’t had time to shop for my dress before that.
So, I visited a few boutiques and found my perfect dress. It was emerald green, which I knew would highlight my eyes.
“That’s beautiful,” James said when I tried it on for him.
I felt different. I no longer felt like the sidelined mother of the groom. Instead, I felt beautiful and confident every time I thought of the dress.
As the wedding week approached, James and I made sure to be present at all the events Mark and Alice needed us to attend, including the rehearsal dinner, where we raised our glasses to toast them.
“All sorted, Mom?” Mark asked me. “Your dress and everything?”
I smiled at my son. Even with the tension between Alice and me, he always checked in on me.
“Of course,” I replied. “I’m ready to celebrate you and Alice.”
On the morning of the wedding, I put on my green dress and did my makeup. It was everything I had wanted to look like for my son’s wedding—elegant and classy.
When I arrived at the venue, the atmosphere was thick with whispers. I ignored them, thinking everyone was just surprised to see me in something different.
I went straight to the bride’s dressing room, hoping to see Alice and compliment her before she walked down the aisle.
When I opened the door, Alice looked up, and her joyful expression turned into one of devastation. She looked me up and down and then burst into tears.
“Why did you do this to me, Claire?” she sobbed, her voice choked with emotion.
Confused, I stepped into the room and closed the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your dress!” she exclaimed.
“What about it?” I asked, second-guessing everything.
“It’s my dream wedding dress, just in another color,” she said, nearly shouting.
I was taken aback.
“Alice, honestly,” I said. “I didn’t realize—they look so different in color.”
But Alice wasn’t listening. She sat on the couch, her head in her hands.
“How could you?” she cried. “You’ve made this day about you! Just because we didn’t take any of your suggestions!”
Mark, hearing the commotion from his dressing room, rushed in.
“Mom? What’s going on?” he asked, looking between us for an explanation.
Trying to calm the situation, I explained slowly.
“I didn’t see the resemblance, Mark,” I said. “I truly just loved the dress, and I thought—”
Alice stood up and marched toward Mark.
“No!” she shouted. “You thought you’d show me what I could’ve had, but in green. Isn’t that it?”
“Mom, please,” Mark said. “Let’s just try to get through the day. Please, for me.”
I agreed and left the dressing room, wanting to find James and sit quietly until the day was over.
I knew Alice and I were on a thin line, but I didn’t expect her to shout at me like that.
Naturally, I was upset, but I didn’t want to ruin their day any more.
Looking back, maybe I should have been more open to Alice’s wishes. It was her day after all, not just mine to control. The question of whether I was wrong weighs heavily on me.
Yes, in trying to impose my vision, I may have lost sight of what truly mattered—Alice’s happiness and Mark’s peace on their special day.
Was I wrong for what I did?
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