For several weeks, I noticed my electricity bill was a little higher than usual, but I assumed it was because we had been using the heating more often.
Then one Saturday morning, I walked around the side of my house and saw an extension cord plugged into the outdoor socket near my back wall.
I followed it across the fence.
It led directly into my neighbor’s garage.
I knocked on his door and asked what was going on.
He didn’t even look embarrassed.
“Oh, that,” he said. “I’m just running a few tools. It barely costs anything.”
I told him that wasn’t the point. It was my electricity, on my meter, and he had never asked permission.
He laughed and said I was making a big deal over pennies.
That afternoon, I bought a lockable cover for the outdoor outlet.
I thought that would end it.
The next morning, I found a folded note pushed through my letterbox.
It said:
“If you’re going to be that petty, don’t expect me to help when you need something.”
I actually laughed.
Later that day, another neighbor knocked on my door.
He told me the same man had been plugging into his outside socket too.
By evening, three households on the street had installed lockable covers.
Apparently, those “few pennies” had been coming from all of us.
