As a former news guy with the Philadelphia Inquirer and Associated Press, I'm able to approach this subject with fairness and balance. I find many neighbor conflicts are between parties that could otherwise get along, but some dispute arose and no one knew the proper way to handle it. Tips from my book and/or involvement of a good, fair mediator could help in getting everything resolved.
My focus, though, is often on the other kind of neighbor conflict, where there truly is a bad guy(s), victimizing good people. These are the people who heighten their offenses when we raise the issue, who ignore laws and scoff at basic neighbor etiquette, who I consider psychological sadists. They're dangerous.
I remain fair-minded in all my work, but I'm decidedly a Good Neighbor Advocate. When dealing with true Neighbors From Hell, it's hard to get your better neighbors, authorities or even the media on your side. I favor the underdog, which I call the Good Neighbor Underclass.
If you have a story you'd like to share with the media during my publicity tours, please email me the whole story, and I'll keep it on file; I'm busy responding to and going back and forth with NFH site members and cannot answer all the mail I get, but once a news organization or talk show needs a story like yours, I'll be in touch.
