The Three Steps of a Bully

The predator who lived next door to us had three levels of asking for something. First he would admire it - "You sure have a nice place" (with special emphasis on the word "sure"). If that did not get him what he wanted, he would go to the second step. "Who owns this place?" he would ask. "We do," I answered. He asked me that six times. I patiently answered it, thinking he could have a memory problem. The sixth time he asked and I answered, "We do," he got mad - "Well I'll be sure not to STEP ON IT!" I finally realized that he was hinting that he wanted access to our land - the combination to our lock on the gate, the ability to drive across our lot to the back of his mother's place... We were suspicious of his motivations. There seemed to us something beyond just the access that he wanted and so, trusting our gut, we just ignored the questions hidden in his whining hints. So he went to his third level - threats. He said to Karl - "You're gonna be driving on some lonely road one of these days and then my boys will take care of you. But don't worry. I'll take care of your wife and THEN I'll have your place."

So watch out for anyone who slowly increases their requests or uses hints to ask for something. You just may have a predator who is shopping around for someone to prey upon.