Debra Ginsberg - The Neighbors Are Watching

The Grift
Blind Submission

Nonfiction

About My Sisters
Raising Blaze
Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2010 by Debra Ginsberg

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ginsberg, Debra, 1962
The neighbors are watching : a novel / Debra Ginsberg.1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Pregnant teenagersFiction. 2. BirthfathersFiction. 3. Suburban life CaliforniaFiction. 4. NeighborsFiction. 5. Domestic fiction. 6. Psychological fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.I4585N45 2010
813.6dc22 2010002095

eISBN: 978-0-307-46388-3

v3.1

For Blaze

SanDiegoFireBlog.com

Monday, October 22, 2007

Del Mar: Mandatory evacuations listed

Posted @ 6:16 PM

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for neighborhoods within Del Mar and Carmel Valley. Residents are encouraged to evacuate to Qualcomm Stadium. Residents should call 2-1-1 for all nonemergency calls related to this fire. Residents may also call the City of San Diego Community Access Phone for additional fire information.

91 comments:

Dell said

Im in Solana Beach. We have been under advisory evacuation all afternoon. Now that theres mandatory evacuation in Del Mar, it must mean things are getting worse. That fire is spreading fast.

October 22, 2007 6:41 PM

thinkhard said

Does mandatory mean you must leave? Where do we go?

October 22, 2007 6:42 PM

Dell said

Mandatory means you must leave, advisory is highly recommended. If you can get out, do it. There is no point staying if it is not necessary. That Witch Fire is destroying everything in its path. Its huge.

October 22, 2007 6:43 PM

Laura said

Yes, also wondering what this means for the Fairgrounds evac siteare they going to have to move to Qualcomm too?

October 22, 2007 6:53 PM

Dell said

the del mar fairgrounds are now filled to capacity. i just got the reverse 911 call telling me to be ready to evacuate from solana beach. i believe the evac sites are supposed to be protected, but i have no idea.

October 22, 2007 6:55 PM

Laura said

Thanks, Dell. I think that makes sense re the fairgroundsit is surrounded by wetlands.

Good luck to you on the evac be safe.

October 22, 2007 7:00 PM

Dell said

Yes, everyone be safe and god bless!

October 22, 2007 7:10 PM

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Del Mar evacuation lifted

Posted @ 6:31 PM

The City of Del Mar has lifted all evacuation notices within the city, according to the countys Office of Emergency Services. Residents who evacuated are allowed to return to their homes.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Teen missing in Carmel Valley following evacuation

Posted @ 3:42 PM

A 17 yr. old girl is missing from her Carmel Valley home following this weeks evacuation. The family reported Diana Jones missing this morning. Jones failed to return home after the mandatory evacuation on Monday. It is not clear why the family waited until this morning to file the report. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriffs Office at 619-555-4545.

0 comments

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Seeking Information

Posted @ 7:22 PM on Oct 27, 2007

[Photo]

Fire and law enforcement officials are seeking help in an investigation into Walter Wayne Simon, 45, who was arrested Oct. 24 for impersonating a firefighter at the Rice fire. Simon was detained in East County driving a Chevy pickup with personalized firefighter license plates. Authorities found fire equipment inside the truck.

Authorities want to know if anyone has seen Simon at the fires or at fire stations. Contact Sheriffs Department.

1 comment:

Anonymous said

Dude looks scary; what a disgrace to the REAL firefighting heroes.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Missing teen was new mother

Posted @ 9:38 AM

Diana Jones, the Carmel Valley teen missing since last weeks evacuation of the area, had just given birth, according to a source close to the family. The four-week-old infant is safe with the teens parents. It is not clear whether Jones and the infant were alone in the house when Jones disappeared. The family is asking anyone with any information or who may have seen Jones to please contact the Sheriffs Office.

4 comments:

Anonymous said

Nobody got hurt in this mess except illegals trying to sneak into this country and they deserve everything they get so this girls probably fine if shes legal.

October 29, 2007 9:40 AM

Sarasmom said

What a terrible thing to say! What if something happened to her? The parents are probably reading this right now. You should be ashamed of yourself.

October 29, 2007 9:45 AM

Anonymous said

[comment removed by Administrator]

Anonymous said

Youll never find her.

October 29, 2007 10:00 AM

T here was a breeze high up, rustling through the palm trees, but the air below was still and hot. There was no shelter from the bright sun that beat down on her outside the locked front door of the house that belonged, according to its mailbox, to The Montanas. She could see that some of the other houses on the street had little overhangs on their front doors; a good thing if you didnt want to roast to death while you stood outside in the summer waiting for someone youd never met to come home.

But this door had no shade, nowhere to rest, and nothing to hide behind. She was tired and overheated. The initial rush of adrenaline shed felt when she first knocked on the doornot knowing who would answer or how that person would receive herhad worn off, leaving her feeling sweaty and tense. She hated just standing there, her broke-ass suitcase propped up next to her and her worn-out purse on top of it. No way she fit into this neighborhoodthat much was obvious.

She waited. Five minutes. Maybe ten. Finally, she had to sit. She eased herself down on the burning concrete driveway, folding her thin skirt under her, more out of a need to protect her legs from the heat than a desire for modesty. Her feet were dustydirty, really. She needed a shower and some water to drink. Who would have thought it would be hotter here than in Las Vegas? Or maybe it just felt hotter because you never sat outside in Vegas in July and cooked yourself like a chicken. The baby kicked hard as if agreeing with her. Sshh, she whispered, hand to her belly. You dont have to tell me.

The longer she sat, the more nervous she became, and she couldnt understand why. It was a quiet street, peaceful. No dogs barking or lawn mowers running. Just that little whisper of a breeze up high and that tiny hum in the air you could hear when it was superhot, as if things were growing or stretching. Maybe it was