C. David Henderson

To me, the neighbor aspect of the situation changes how I'd value different outcomes. I've had friendly relations and strained relations with neighbors. I prefer friendly, whether or not "close;" and would want to react differently to an upset neighbor than to, say, a chance encounter with an aggressive driver on the road.

Here, given that the car had already been towed, it seemed to me a bit of "active listening" didn't cost the author anything, and might have been needed to get the neighbor to a place where she could hear somebody else's point of view. Heck, it might even have saved time and aggravation in the long run.

That said, in the luxury of hindsight at least, I was left with the feeling they'd left unresolved what to do about the son parking there in the future, without notice, as he had in the past.

I'd have been interested to know whether, having been heard, the neighbor was ready to listen.

YMMV.

regards

cdh