My Single Mom Life

Yes, that Tom Jones, and I'll tell you why.

See, when the teens and I first moved here 12 years ago, we stayed with my sister and her now ex-husband for about 6 months, until I could save up enough money to get our own place.
We got here and within 2 weeks I got a really good job that I loved, and things were going well.

My sister and her ex-husband don't smoke, they didn't allow it in their home, but they were ok with me smoking outside on their lanai.
I loved being out there, their backyard was so beautiful, all fenced in, big pretty trees, green grass, beautiful lanterns that doubled as bug protection, and a gorgeous fish pond that my sister built with big and colorful Koi fish in it.
She had built this big pond, had all those pretty fish in it, rocks and lights surrounding it, a little water fall, too, which circulated the water from the pond down the waterfall using a small motor and some tubing.
It was so peaceful out there at night.
That is until the neighbor directly behind her got home at night around 7pm.

At exactly 8pm every single night, without fail, the guy behind her would crank up the stereo speakers, and play the exact same cd every.
single.
night.
Tom Jones Greatest Hits: Platinum Edition.
This is not the exact same cd, I can't find the one that he had in 1997, but the track listing is almost identical, I have it memorized.
Actually, it's burned into my brain.

Every night after I had tucked the boys into bed around 7:30pm, they were just 4 & 6 then, I would go outside with a book and my smokes to relax the day's work off.
I had a hard job, I was the shipping and receiving manager for Pier 1 Imports, I unloaded trucks full of furniture and all of that other stuff they sell, 3 days a week, and do the reports, ordering of new merchandise, helped people load their purchases into their vehicles, move everything around the store for the new weekly sales, it was a physically demanding job, so I sat outside at night to chill out, relax, and read a good book every night before I went to bed.
I probably spent about 3 hours a night out there trying to relax, trying to read, but that idiot who lived behind her was a Tom Jones fanatic, he played the same damn cd every single night, over and over and over.
As soon as it would finish all 17 or so tracks, it just started again at the beginning.

It's Not Unusual, What's New Pussycat, Delilah, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, She's a Lady, Take Me to the River, and many, many more.
Over and over and over.
It was like an audio nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.
I almost felt like he was doing it on purpose.
I was out there from about 7:30-8pm until about 11pm every night, and he played that music from 8pm until 11pm every night.
As soon as I would get up from my comfy sling chair and start heading in, the music would stop.
I even tested it a few times to see if he was doing it to me intentionally.
I would get up, put my bookmark in, grab my can of Diet Pepsi, and start blowing out the torches, and the music would stop.
If I sat back down and opened my book back up, the music would start again.
I really thought he was doing it to me on purpose!
I even told my sister that I thought her neighbor was watching me, to see when I went in, that he stopped the music when I got up, but if I sat back down, it would start again.
She laughed and said no way, he had been playing that same cd for like a year.
But I said "No Jo, I swear, he's doing it to me on purpose, come watch this."
So one night she waited til about 11pm when I would start coming in, and she stood in the patio doors watching and listening, I got up and blew out a few torches, and the music stopped.
I sat back down and opened my book, and the music started again.
I stood up, it stopped.
I came in the house and said "See!?! I told you! He's watching for me to go back in the house!"
She laughed, it was funny, the neighbor was torturing me with Tom Jones music every night for the whole 6 months I lived there.
At one point I was so crazy from it, I started looking for either really cheap or free hotel rooms for the boys and I to stay in until I could find us an apartment.
I was going absolutely insane listening to that music every night.
I was so glad when I finally found an apartment, no more Tom Jones!
Hooray!

Now every time I hear or see Tom Jones, I feel a little twitch coming on, and this morning he was on The View.
I sat here thinking oh please, please do not let him sing What's New Pussycat, I'll scream, I'll go crazy.
No, he didn't sing that one, but he did sing this one.
And it's just as bad in my nightmare of Tom Jones every single night for 6 whole months.