World's Worst Neighbor? Man Posts 'Glad You Have Cancer' Sign on Window

A Cranston, R.I. man prompted a neighborhood protest after he posted a sign that said "Glad you have canser [sic] so die stupid" on his garage window after a dispute with his cancer-stricken neighbor.

Edward Jimmis told the Providence Journal he put up the sign, encircled in a holiday wreath with a red bow, because he "wanted to hit a nerve."

The neighbor, 55-year-old Bob Gold, has been in remission for a year from Hodgkin's lymphoma, first diagnosed in Feb. 2009. He said he was in his backyard on Monday when he saw the wreath and the cardboard sign.

Gold said he called Cranston police, who told him Jimmis was not breaking the law. An officer asked Jimmis to take the sign down but he refused.

According to the Providence Journal, Jimmis changed the sign after receiving calls from a reporter to a new one that read, "Love your neighbor."

Asked about the change, Jimmis said, "You're supposed to love your neighbor. I'm doing him a favor."

Unsatisfied, Gold complained to the mayor's office and called the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. A representative from the mayor's office said that while the mayor supported Gold, "We can't legislate being a good neighbor."

On Tuesday afternoon, about 17 people protested in front of Jimmis' house, carrying signs that read, "Leave our peaceful neighborhood," "Evil to cancer patients," "Shame on you" and "God please help him."

Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo, Jr. said Jimmis later acknowledged putting the sign up had been over the top and said he wouldn't post it again.