[Story] The tale of a drunken hermit.

Last night I got home from work to find a few police cars, an ambulance, and a coronor's vehicle huddled around a neighbor's house.

This particular neighbor was not a very nice, friendly, and/or "neighborly" person. Whenever he needed something done, he would ask for help but never returned the favor. He would constantly complain of his problems and pains and gave excuses for not being able to do anything. He would shut himself inside of his house and watch the world from his window through glossy eyes. Every night he would drink about a fifth of vodka and no doubt add to his problems and issues. Whenever anyone showed concern because his mailbox had been overflowing, they were told to mind their business and leave him alone. Very angry and very agitated. This eventually turned everyone away from him and no one bothered with him from there. After a while things began to pile up again in the mail box and the police were called. Soon after they discovered that he was dead in his house. According to the police it turned out that he was dead for quite a while. He had been there for about a month without anyone realizing.

So, when I heard that he had been dead I wasn't too surprised but I was shocked at how long he had been in there without anyone noticing. At first I didn't care at all because the guy was such an ass to everyone and didn't care about anyone but himself. Then I thought about the amount of time that he had been dead and it just seemed really sad. To go that long without any human contact is something that I'm familiar with but I never thought about what would happen if I died. Then my mother brought up how the other neighbor died many years ago. It was practically the next day that they found him dead in his house. They both lived alone but the fundamental difference between them is how they interacted with the people around them. With the neighbor that died a month or so ago, no one really cared and he clearly didn't care either. With the neighbor that died many years ago it seemed everyone was sad and felt the loss. He was remembered for being a good and friendly person.

I guess my point is this: What kind of legacy do you want to leave after you die/leave?

Submitted March 04, 2017 at 10:27AM by ICONOFGIRAFFE http://ift.tt/2m6cGI8