Screaming Neighbour

We have this neighbour who is not the most pleasant person, we nicknamed him Screaming G*. I do not have room for all the problems we have had with this person. After setting up the patio area in the backyard and sitting back to enjoy it, I heard Screaming G* step out on his deck with his friend. His voice is so loud that it feels like he is standing beside me with a megaphone. You can't help but be a part of his chatter. After listening to his conversation about drinking, who is drinking, people that he knew that were drunk and his friend adding his own stories about drinking I noticed something. He laughs a lot. More than normal. Practically after everything he says, he laughs. Not an engaging laugh but a hollow laugh. It is as if he wants to prove that he is human. The laughter is attached to his cruelty, his putdowns and to a false sense of comradely. His laugh holds no warmth, it is loud and abrasive and it tries to fool you. The more I listened to just his laugh the more I understood how disconnected it was to any true feelings. This is not to be mistaken for the social laughter that groups of people engage in. It was nothing like that. There was nothing funny or happy in the conversation so you would expect that the laughter to be infused with a snarky, mean spirited tone. There was nothing nice about his laugh, yes it was cruel but that wasn’t what I noticed. It was in totality the lack of compassion, empathy. I had this feeling of alarm. This man is scary. There is a void in him, a darkness that emanates from his very being. I do not look forward to the summer.