On Thu, 3 Jun 2021 04:53:05 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton wrote:

> On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 7:27:42 AM UTC-4, Sqwertz wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure what "calls past" means (I even looked it up).
>
> We would say "drops by".

Somebody knocks or rings on the door when I'm not expecting it I
don't even look out peephole 19 out of 20 times. The door doesn't
get opened.

I was cornered by a roofing salesman a couple weeks ago ("Kyle")
while I was sitting on the porch and I told him "Not interested.
Keep on walking" before he even entered the driveway. Then 10 more
times... "Please leave", "Just go away", "Get off my property",
"stop walking. Turn around. DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER", "get the ****
off my property", :"Now get the **** out of my yard!", "Yo! WTF IS
YOUR PROBLEM DUDE!?!".... all the while he's trying to sell me a
roof while advancing on me on the porch criticizing my 'attitude',
criticising, my lawn, my trees, my bushes (which I had just trimmed
and were spread out all over the yard)... "May I ask who did your
roof last time?"

That's when I picked up a choice stick I set aside on my porch from
my tree trimming earlier, and stood up and advanced on him. Seeing
the girth of my stick (or maybe it was just my girth <shrug>) he
FINALLY got the message - He did some sort of funny little impromptu
dance and then scurried off pretty quick-like.

Then while knocking and ringing the on the next door neighbors door
4 times (she wasn't home, and I told him that before the first
knock-ring combo) he's all standing back from the door so he can see
me, and flinging more attitude and insults at me which I'm
ignoring. Then finally after the fourth knock-ring combo in 2
minutes, her handyman calls out an open window, "The owner's not
here. Get the **** off the property!". And while glaring at me,
Kyle says, "OK, Thank you for your time! Unlike SOME of your
neighbors!". I laughed pretty hard at that one, "Yeah, score one for
Big Kyle - Roofing Salesman of the Year!".

He got all indignant, but he got the messages. He walked 120 yards
up the street and out of sight without knocking on any more doors.
And he didn't come back to egg my house, throw rocks through my
windows, nor do a drive by shooting. Yet.

See, I'm not just a dick on Usenet. I can be pretty formidable in
real life, too! Especially when it comes to door to door salesman.

>> judging by context, if somebody calls past, you should sometimes
>> tell them to bring food since they're kinda imposing.
>
> Or, you could offer simple hospitality.

(laugh) Yeah, right. Who comes over expecting to hang out (and get
fed) anymore without calling first? Should I have offered the
roofing guy to come in for fried shrimp?

I'm gonna stick with just not answering the door. It's actually
pretty standard MO these days regardless of the neighborhood.

-sw