CHALLENGE #1: Write a story from your neighbor’s perspective


* * * * * * * * * *

I wish that dog would stop barking. All day long, he barks and barks. I wonder if they feed him. And why did they name him Stony? Hmmm... makes me wonder what kind of past SHE had. I'm new to the neighborhood but I've been around long enough to know a little about HER.

A couple of years ago, SHE left Hawai'i with her husband. HER second husband, I might add. Her mom told me all about how she took off with husband #2 and eloped... didn't tell a soul about the nuptials. Wild GIRL!

Sometimes she comes out of the house half-dressed. She wears a pair of shorts with a lavalava wrapped around her chest. She does yard work like that. Hangs the laundry on the line like that. Secretly, I'm jealous that she's so free and so comfortable with her body. She really doesn't care who's looking at her. Stretch marks and all.

Her husband is African-American. I know he's not African because he definitely speaks like an American. He's a really nice guy. Her first husband was African-American also but I never met him. Obviously her preference is outside of her Polynesian heritage. Some people are just like that. They don't have any kids yet. I wonder what the hold up is.

She talks really loud and laughs really loud. When her cousin's from down the road come over and they're all together -- the loud laughter is sometimes unbearable. I mean it is really loud. But laughter usually means happiness so I guess it's okay.

They just started a garden and they have the long squash vine crawling along their wall. It's so pretty. I love to see fresh produce growing. They have a Hawaiian lemon tree growing also. It never seems to run out of fruit except for maybe 2 months out of the year. They also have strawberries crawling on the ground, cherry tomatoes, several banana trees. That is one of the great things of living in the tropic region.