From: sherod@newton.Colorado.EDU (Scott Herod)
Subject: Gas in fuel tank:  From rec.autos.tech  (long)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 06:08:28 GMT

I post a question on rec.autos.tech concerning what to do about a sweetened
car.  I implied that it was a long strange story and a couple of people 
suggested I tell it.  I will try to be honest in this and I am afraid that
I am not entirely blameless.

My wife and I live in a duplex near campus.  Until a year ago we had
some nice undergraduates in the other half.  They even at one time
watched our daughter when we needed a favor.  When they left a friend
of theirs and his girlfriend moved in.  Apparently they were having 
trouble with the rent and got another guy as a roomate in their second
bedroom.  The household there also included two large, noisy dogs.
Things didn't go well there.  The first guy liked to give his dog
pizza boxes to chew on and was not particularly prompt at cleaning them
up when they were scattered around the house.  The second guy had a 
problem with this. (Wonder why?)  We know this because the first guy
would come and tell us the problems.  Well things got worse and guy
number two picked up the trash and put it in guy number ones bed.
The girlfriend came home and sees this and calls guy number one who
comes home and starts yelling at guy number two.  A fight insues. 
(My wife was at a rehearsal and I was watching the baby.  I figured,
"Oh well they are just yelling at the dogs and chasing them around.")

My wife comes in about 20 minutes later and tells me that there 
are four police cars outside and they are worried about standing
in view of the windows.  Apparently guy number two had told guy
number one that he is not worried because he has a loaded gun in
his room.  Well the gun is eventually confiscated and guy number
two is issued a restraining order.  He moves his stuff out immeadiately.
We hear the whole story from guy number one and he confesses that
that night he snuck out and poured a quart of bottled water into
guy number two's gas tank.  Like a fool I say, " Oh water isn't
bad.  You probably have that much in there from condensation.
What is really bad is sugar."

Well a month or so later guy numbers 3 and 4 move in.  Guy 4 really
lives with his girlfriend and just stores stuff there.  They throw
a big NOISY party to celebrate.  We complain.  We call the landlord
and he comes over to discuss it with all of us.  We complain again 
when it gets loud again.  At 2:00 am we say we are going to call the
police if it doesn't quite down.  It finally does.

A few days later Beethoven's 9th comes on very loud during the day.
My wife tries to get guy number one to turn it down.  He won't answer
the door or phone.  The landlord comes by to try to collect rent that
is late and he get no response.  Finally he and my wife decide to
flip off the breakers to the other side.  (This place is probably
not legal in that all of the breakers are only accessible from our
side.)  A couple of month long battle of this type occurs.  For 
long periods of times things are fine, but then the stereo comes
on loud enough to shake the walls.  Niether the phone nor door is answered
and the breaker goes off. (The rent we are paying is a steal.  Being
poor graduate students makes us take a lot.) 

Finally there is another party,  wife decides that she will practice
French Horn for first time in house. Yelling insues, but the noise level
improves.  The next morning our phone does not work.  I am walk around
back and see footprints in the fresh snow under the phone box.  It is easy
to open and the plug there is disconnected.  We call the phone company
and they say it is illegal but can we prove it.  Of course not, I recoonected
things.  The landlord says "Oh well they are moving out at the end of the
week."  I race off to the auto parts store to but locking gas caps for the
car remembering a conversation of a long time ago.  I hope the car is only
running poorly because it needs a tune up.

The good part, I'm phded now and we decided to buy a house in a nice
neighborhood out of Buoulder.

Scott

Newsgroups: talk.bizarre