When my neighbor wouldn’t turn off his bright floodlights at night, my husband and I needed a clever solution to keep the peace.
When the Thompsons moved in next door, they seemed friendly. My wife, Gia, and Susan, the neighbor, quickly bonded while chatting over unpacked boxes. We thought we finally had some neighbors our age to socialize with. Mark, the husband, was often away for work, while Susan stayed home and had a long list of phobias, including fear of the dark, thunderstorms, snakes, clowns, and spiders.
As time passed, Susan’s fear of the dark created an issue that affected Gia and me. Their floodlights, installed soon after they moved in, were excessively bright, like those outside prisons. Gia joked that they could probably be seen from space.
Despite our attempts to address the issue, Susan insisted she needed the lights on for safety when Mark was away. We tried thick curtains and rearranging our bedroom, but nothing helped. After a week of sleepless nights, I approached Susan, asking her to turn off the floodlights after midnight, as they shined directly into our bedroom. She explained her need for safety and refused my suggestion to install a timer.
After several attempts to reason with her and Mark, who felt similarly protective of Susan, we continued to lose sleep. Frustrated, I considered drastic measures, like unscrewing the bulbs or using a pellet gun, but Gia reminded me to stay calm. Instead, she suggested a harmless plan while she and Susan went out for nails.
The next day, I climbed a ladder and slightly unscrewed each bulb to disrupt the connection. That night, when Susan turned on the lights, they flickered and went out. Gia and I finally enjoyed peaceful sleep. Surprisingly, days turned into weeks, and the lights stayed off.
However, one day, I saw Mark fixing the bulbs again. The floodlights blazed back to life that night, and I knew I had to repeat my trick. This cycle continued for months—every time Mark tightened the bulbs, I loosened them.
Then one Saturday, as I trimmed the hedges, Mark approached me. He mentioned his floodlights kept going out, and I managed to keep a straight face while agreeing it might be due to vibrations from the street. I suggested he could leave them off, and he seemed to consider it. After that conversation, Gia and I enjoyed our peaceful, dark evenings once again.
Maybe You Didn’t Know This: You Should Never Eat Cucumbers and Tomatoes in the Same Salad
While all natural fruits and vegetables are healthy for you, did you know that some should never be combined? Cucumbers and tomatoes, for instance.
Tomatoes and cucumbers are very healthful. They are abundant in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and water. But you shouldn’t eat them together! When preparing a salad, Ayurveda says it’s critical to know how long each component takes to digest.
Vegetables with varying rates of digestion can be difficult to combine. Food fermentation may occur in your stomach if the lighter ingredient passes through your intestines at the same time as the other begins to digest. Toxins, sluggish digestion, and starch and sugar fermentation may arise from this. This will ruin your food and increase your risk of stomach pain, bloating, and gas.
Other than cucumbers and tomatoes, there are other combinations of foods to be careful with. Here are few to keep in mind:
Fruits after eating: Fruits take longer to digest and if they are left in the stomach for an extended period of time, they can cause acid reflux and other digestive problems.
Cheese and meat: Limit the amount of protein in your meal. No more than one kind per meal.
Even though it’s a common combination, macaroni and cheese (or macaroni and meat) might create stomach problems since carbs and proteins breakdown at different rates.
Cheese and vegetables together can make you more prone to bloating.
Orange juice might damage the enzyme required to break down carbohydrates, so avoid eating bread or noodles with it.
Watermelon and melons should be consumed on their own; do not mix them with other fruits.
Milk and bananas together can cause digestive delays.
Yogurt and fruits are a popular breakfast combination, but they can alter your gut flora and slow down digestion.
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