Submit a next-door neighbor story—one story will be transformed into the final installment of our webcomic series, Next-Door Neighbor.
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My one failure as a tenet of the basement is that I live under people. I guess my neighbors live above me. In fact, one of the girls who lives upstairs says, "Hey neighbor," anytime she sees me. So there is that, in the whole scheme of things, there will always be that. There will also be that one Saturday morning. The one where I woke up … Read more »
Creep, adequately named for his soiled loose maroon jogging pants and greasy slick black hair and killer back room bar stench that emanates from his core, has not been seen since December 21st 2007. His real name could be Sir Barron Von Proxy for all I know, to me, he is Creep, resident of 2F, at 74 East 4th street. He has once spoken to me, or perhaps … Read more »
Ivy covered the back wall of the house. This creeping, climbing plant, my downstairs neighbor Candida claimed, was the cause of our arguments. For the first year I lived in the ground-floor apartment, the basement remained empty. For twelve months, I stared out of my window onto the overgrown garden, weeds pushing up through patio slabs, birds resting in unpruned trees, cats stalking the birds. Then Candida and Adam arrived. … Read more »
Anne and Bill have been married for many years. She's eighty-eight and he's eighty-nine. They've raised their families and fed half the neighborhood. Maybe you've seen them dancing on Friday night at the lodge or taking part in area garage sales. None of us could keep up with them, they're blessed with great stamina.
Unfortunately, a few years ago Bill started having mild strokes. One of those times he drove himself … Read more »
In the week it took for our cable guy to come out and install services in our new home, my husband and I came up with Neighbor-vision. Being TV junkies, either watching the good ol' boob tube or having it on as background noise, we were restless not having our TV fix. On our first night, we watched through the curtains as blue and red lights flashed the presence … Read more »
In 1986 I was living with my girlfriend on 25th Street and 2nd Avenue, Next door lived a mild mannered Black gay guy named Fred. During the week he was usually very quiet, but on Sunday mornings he would blast Al Green albums and sing loudly. He had a wonderful voice, so it wasn't much of a problem.
Of course there were week-ends when I'd be hung-over, head hurting, face … Read more »
My wife and I bought a house in a quaint little neighborhood in Lancaster, PA. It was built in 1927, and the house next door sat just outside our back door, to the right, beyond a huge thorny holly bush. Most days, on their porch were random dilapidated plumbing fixtures and Big Dick; I never knew him by any other name. He had worked at a hot dog … Read more »
As part of our new webcomic, Next-Door Neighbor, we thought it appropriate to have a little contest. Tell us your best true next-door neighbor story, and the winning tale will be matched with an artist and transformed into a webcomic and included as the final installment of Next-Door Neighbor.
No matter how close or how far, we all live next to someone, and we all have a Next-Door Neighbor story. With that in mind, editor Dean Haspiel asked some of his favorite storytellers and cartoonists to create their favorite NDN stories so we could share them with you.
By submitting an entry, you are granting SMITH the right to reprint or republish that entry online or in print, as well as make any necessary edits. See SMITH's terms of service for complete details.
This contest ends September 1, 2008. Prizes are not redeemable for cash and must be accepted as awarded. Winners are decided at the discretion of SMITH judges and all decisions are final. SMITH reserves the right to change the contest rules. Enter as often as you want. SMITH reserves the right to reprint or republish all entries.
By krammer_abrahams 2 yearss ago 
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