AITA for Planning Revenge After Vet Threatens My Driveway?

A few years ago, I moved into a neighborhood where most of the residents were baby boomers. During our four-year stay, my daughters and I often went for walks, and we were one of only two families with kids in the entire subdivision. The rest of the residents were retirees or still-working boomers, many of whom were easily irritated. The kids couldn’t ride their bikes on the road without getting yelled at. They couldn’t ride on the sidewalks without getting yelled at. Even picking a dandelion from a yard led to complaints about disturbing the landscaping. The sense of entitlement was overwhelming.

My neighbor was a retired army man who did whatever he pleased, and no one ever seemed to challenge him. He didn’t like the trash pickup service because he claimed it damaged his lawn, so he placed his carts on my property. He even put political signs on my lawn. His fence was too short on one side for a gate, so he used the side facing my yard, bringing his 4-wheelers, lawnmowers, and other equipment through my property. I didn’t mind much, as I saw a yard as just a yard. I kept my trees professionally maintained, had regular lawn care, and mowed the grass often. His complaints were mostly ignored with a polite, “OK, I’ll keep an eye on that.”

However, my wife has terrible spatial awareness and parking skills. She often left our driveway with one wheel on the grass, creating a muddy spot where the driveway met the sidewalk. This was the ultimate offense to my boomer neighbor.

One day in mid-November, after picking up the kids from school, my eldest daughter, who was seven at the time, saw the neighbor putting up an electric tree in his yard for Christmas. His wife was sweet and liked the decorations, so he begrudgingly put them up for her. My daughter, standing on our driveway, told him how much she loved the lights. He immediately raged at her and then came over to me, arms full, and told me he wouldn’t tolerate any more mud.

He even threatened to dump a truckload of rocks on my driveway to prevent us from using it, adding that women shouldn’t drive anyway. Furious at him for yelling at my child and having had enough of his complaints, I retrieved an official property survey I had gotten months prior and handed it to him.

I explained that he could dump as much rock as he wanted on his property but showed him exactly where the property line ended. I told him if he crossed the line again, I’d have him trespassed. I pointed out that his gate was right on the property line, meaning he couldn’t use it anymore, and that he couldn’t use my driveway either. If his trash bins ended up in my yard again, I’d call the city to have them removed.

He turned beet red and protested, but I stood firm. That was the last time we spoke. About a year later, some workers came to do some work on his house and tried to use my driveway. I informed them they had to use his property, explaining the history. Though they were annoyed, they had to drive their heavy equipment through his lawn, turning it into a mud pit.

We moved a few months later. Before leaving, I left a card for his wife, appreciating her kindness and hoping his new neighbors would treat him with as much care and respect as he had shown us.

I saw him at Home Depot this morning, looking as grumpy as ever, and it inspired me to share this story.

Let’s catch up on the top Comments on the Reddit Posts: AITA for Planning Revenge After Vet Threatens My Driveway?

displacedbitminer Writes: