If I could buy one really large billboard for my yard, it would say:  *get*over*yourselves*

A problem with rodents led me to join my neighborhood association listserve yesterday.  Frankly, with a growing rat issue, I have been looking forward to snake season.  This recent plunge into a pit of vipers has me reconsidering.

I’ll skip the commentary and go straight to the quotations.

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Issue 1

First let me say I’m sure they are wonderful people and great neighbors but…  There is an obvious eyesore that is making the entire subdivision look bad.  I’m speaking about 2710 Tulip Poplar where there are large white squares in the back yard.  My husband thinks they look like old washing machines.  A neighbor says they’re bee hives.  Another neighbor thinks they’re compost bins.  No matter what they are, they are very visible to anyone who drives Tulip Poplar.  Wondering if any others feel the same way and is there anything we can do about it?  Like I said, I’m sure the neighbor at that address is a great person/people but it seems something like this should be kept behind a fence.

I agree. It’s definitely an eyesore. I too would assume that the white boxes are compost bins. I would also assume that perhaps their yard will look “nice” when whatever project they are working on is done (assuming this is a project with a definite ending). But in the meantime, it does look bad and is very visible from the street.

I have no evidence that they’re bee hives. I don’t know what they are other than an eyesore.  They could be there harvesting a cure for cancer, and that’s great but they are an eyesore and should be out of sight (like behind a fence). Can we get a board member to chime in on this please?  (husband posted this time)

Yes, I have to agree as well that it is an eyesore and bring downs the value of our neighborhood. A person that drives through here would think less of our neighborhood by looking at those white bins scattered throughout. I definitely feel there needs to be something done about it.

Issue 2

The kids on those bikes are driving me nuts right now!!!  They have been riding fast through the neighborhood for an hour now and through the trails.  What can we do!???  Where are they coming from???

They are coming from Cooksbury.

We should have private property signs up by end of this week.  Also if anyone can get an address on Cooksbury where 4-wheelers are coming from, we can approach them directly.

Has anyone else seen the 4 wheelers this past week. I have seen them now twice after dark. Just last night 2 came up Lot #112 – over the back & into the woods behind the lake. Is there a plan to put a stop to this?

They are also riding those loud bikes through the neghborhood. I heard the 4 wheelers last night while I was weeding out my flower beds (about 530pm) but they didn’t come up near my area this time (panther creek pkwy). Now the we hage private property signs posted we should be able to call arresting authorities and they can actually do something about it now. Next time any of you see or hear those guys from Cooksbury call the authorities. They have been sent a letter by the HOA to stop this.

I realize we’ve had a number of problems with our cooksbury neighbors but all our problems can not be blamed on them. I’ve noticed some of our bike and four wheeler riders live in Panther Creek. I live in Panther Creek but for obvious reasons choose not to disclose where. I’ve seen some of our PC residents leave out of their garages with four wheelers and mini-motorcycles. I think we also need to address our residents in some way since I’m more than sure they do not log on to the Panther Creek HOA website.

Issue 3

Dear residents…  Fishing is not allowed in the pond. It happened over the weekend. This is a preserved pond and we pay to maintain it.  I do believe the people I’ve personally witnessed last year during the warmer months and the people from over the weekend were actually people who do NOT even live in the neighborhood. There are signs posted No trespassing PCHOA. But it doesn’t seem to work….  As always, if you see suspicious activity over on the trails, please notify authorities.

We are checking the statement that the pond is off limits for fishing if you are a Panther Creek resident. If there is no law against fishing in it we will retract the previous statement.

My husband and I took our little one fishing in the pond this weekend. We are residents of Panther Creek. I assumed residents were able to fish in the pond because I didn’t see a “No Fishing” sign posted. I agree people outside of PC shouldn’t be allowed to fish because we are paying HOA dues. Please let me know what the rule is regarding residents fishing in the pond so I’ll know in the future. Thanks.

If you are NOT a resident there is no fishing. Maybe that came across the wrong way.

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Now the commentary.

HOA = Hoards of Aggressors, or Having One’s A** (on one’s shoulders).

This is not 90210.  It’s not even 27511.  (Cary)  We live in the 04, 27704 in the Gorman community in Durham County.  We’re in the city limits because of a loophole to encourage development.  Don’t get me wrong – I like city services.  My point is we do not live in Pleasantville.  We live in a starter community in rural Durham with home prices from the 120s.  Many of us are first-time home buyers.  Lighten up.

The theme song to “The Jeffersons” rings in my ears.  We have wonderful, green homes in a lovely community, but who do we think we are?  Who do you think we are?  I’m pretty sure we’re not working off the same assumptions.  (I know who you think YOU are.)

“Those people” on Cooksbury Road are not interlopers or criminals who should be kept out at all costs.  They were here first.  In fact, many have lived around the corner for decades, in homes they own.  They once fished in the pond we now call off limits to them, at risk of contacting “arresting authorities.”  The fact is the clear cutting necessary to begin our homes probably annoyed them, too.  We share air space.  We use one another’s streets.  They drive only as fast and disrespectfully on our roads as we do on theirs.  Can we not accept (and respect) one another without drawing artificial lines of class and belonging?

The non-Cooksbury kids in question – those who live on my street – are a blast.  They range in age from 7 to 14, and their parents are solid people.  The ATVs were Christmas gifts.  The kids “help” me walk my dogs and assisted their mom in planting bulbs at their new mailbox.  They call me Miss Mitzi and stand in front of their house waiting for my daily walks.  They are kids, extraordinarily good kids.

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I’m going to really step out there now.

Neighborhoods are not about looking nice or seeming nice.  They work when people ARE NICE.  Relationships bring people together and increase mutual understanding and respect.  And the thing about relationships is to have them, you must relate.

In the spirit of Paul Harvey, here is more of ‘the rest of the story’ on the individuals in question on our listserve.

The bee keeper on Tulip Poplar (who is in reality a gardener) is Gary.  He moved from PA but is currently commuting until he retires.  The guy drives 9 hours every two weeks or so to tend the yard at his new Southern retirement cottage by the pond.  Today he planted a ground-cover plant that will soon illicit envy from passing neighbors.  Because he values cultivating his own plants, he is growing seedlings in containers in the back yard – not bee hives or used appliances, planters.  Soon enough he will sit in his front-porch Adirondack chair smiling as neighbors admire his handiwork.  But did anyone even bother to meet him before judging?  Gary is great.  My money is on retirement from medicine or academia.  Behind the spectacles and middle-aged overalls, he watches those who watch him with a knowing eye.  His master plan for the yard is apparent to anyone with an ounce of intuition.  (Apparently our observing neighbors are not that observant, or intuitive.)

The folks with the cars parked on the lawn have a story.  Two years ago they were hit head on by a drunk driver who crossed lanes on a nearby rural road at the top of a hill.  They never saw it coming.  The grandfather who lived with them was killed on impact.  A young boy left the scene with a lacerated liver.  Three adults in the car were hospitalized long term, one with permanently disabling injuries.  She walked with a walker and then a cane for months – painfully taking small steps up the road with assistance.  One evening long after the crash my doorbell rang.  It was this family.  She had made it all the way to my driveway on one walk (six houses away) and wanted me to know.  She also needed to rest for a minute.  Now I bet you money none of our neighbors has offered to help with their yard work or deferred home maintenance.  I will admit to not loving their lawn clutter one bit, but what’s on the surface is rarely enough make a definitive conclusion about a soul.  Snap judgments are much more fun.

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The funny thing is the online banter about gardens, kids and fishing rights attracted a lot of attention.  My request for clarification on roles in dealing with rats, however, brought not a single reply.  I’m not holding my breath there will be any response to my suggestion we have a community Habitat volunteer day in May.  It might not be popular to admit I plan to invite some of our Cooksbury neighbors.

It should be said not all on the listserve supported the witch trials.  In fact, a few spoke out quite loudly about respectful and personal communication – a direct response to the petty virtual attack on our neighbors.  And it is not the functioning of the HOA or the leadership of our board that raised my ire last night.  Quite simply, it’s the inside view of the hearts of some of the folks I call neighbors.

I might prefer the company of rats.

© Mitzi Viola, 4/9/11