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would you like to be my neighbor?
Oct. 24th, 2010 02:24 pmThere's this old lady who lives in the same little apartment bloc as me who I've seen a few times, mostly when she comes off her porch to welcome me to the neighborhood and then scold me about something--letting my trash fall out of the Dumpster, driving too fast, etc. She's very dignified and has lots of geniality and also anger. I usually kind of notice her, make a mental note that I'll forget, and then don't think about it again.
Recently, there's been a Situation in the complex. The apartments border a shopping complex with a parking lot in the back, and from that parking lot you can walk over to the park--the parking lots are divided by a high wooden fence, but up until last month, there was a big space in the back where you could walk behind it. Well, last month, a board member decided to fill in that space with a matching piece of high wooden fence, and then secure it even more by putting a wooden rail in there.
I noticed this and was like, "Huh," and then I climbed over it. Because I am young and limber and am able to. But old ladies cannot, and so Old Lady came around promptly to ask me to sign her petition that the fence be removed. "We walk over there all the time to do our shopping and walk our dogs! It's one of the great things about living here! I'm so glad you agree."
I signed and heard no more about it. Today, Old Lady came up to me again. "Did you get your letter from the board president? About my petition?" I had. The board president had explained that he'd put up the fence without consultation because we'd had two car break-ins, an "attempted quad entry," and had seen "evidence of drinking parties and erotic trysts" that had obviously come from teenagers taking advantage of the gap in the fence. "It's bullshit!" she shouted. "I'm going to take a CHAINSAW to that fence if I have to!"
...I'm going to be a little more careful about my trash and driving and suchlike now that I know that the eagle-eyed old lady next door is willing to take a chainsaw to that which displeases her.
Recently, there's been a Situation in the complex. The apartments border a shopping complex with a parking lot in the back, and from that parking lot you can walk over to the park--the parking lots are divided by a high wooden fence, but up until last month, there was a big space in the back where you could walk behind it. Well, last month, a board member decided to fill in that space with a matching piece of high wooden fence, and then secure it even more by putting a wooden rail in there.
I noticed this and was like, "Huh," and then I climbed over it. Because I am young and limber and am able to. But old ladies cannot, and so Old Lady came around promptly to ask me to sign her petition that the fence be removed. "We walk over there all the time to do our shopping and walk our dogs! It's one of the great things about living here! I'm so glad you agree."
I signed and heard no more about it. Today, Old Lady came up to me again. "Did you get your letter from the board president? About my petition?" I had. The board president had explained that he'd put up the fence without consultation because we'd had two car break-ins, an "attempted quad entry," and had seen "evidence of drinking parties and erotic trysts" that had obviously come from teenagers taking advantage of the gap in the fence. "It's bullshit!" she shouted. "I'm going to take a CHAINSAW to that fence if I have to!"
...I'm going to be a little more careful about my trash and driving and suchlike now that I know that the eagle-eyed old lady next door is willing to take a chainsaw to that which displeases her.