A NEIGHBORHOOD COMES TOGETHER

A good neighborhood comes together in a time of crisis. The cranky old guy’s neighborhood? Well, maybe we could use a little work.

Our current crisis involves a tree branch on the cranky old guy's property. In a recent storm, it fell across a power line. There it still rests, straining the line but not as yet causing any difficulties. The power company, the successor to the infamous VEPCO of the cranky old guy’s youth, has been called. A human spokesperson, reached after many tedious minutes of dealing with a computer, said that the situation was on the company’s To Do list, but that it would likely be awhile.

Most in the neighborhood accept the situation, realizing that the matter is the power company’s responsibility and that the cranky old guy is not about to climb a tree to cut a branch away from a live electrical line. Also, most realize that no self-respecting tree company will tackle the problem without the power company’s say-so and supervision. Maybe Daryl and Daryl of the Culpepper Tree, Gutter, And Whatever Else You Want Done Company, but not a bona fide bonded outfit.

A few in the neighborhood, however, look upon such situations as an opportunity to expound upon their neighbors’ flaws and to demonstrate their own superior concern for the neighborhood’s well-being. For some reason, these few are mostly female. Instead of registering their complaint with the power company, the place where the problem has to ultimately be resolved, these few persist in reminding the cranky old guy that a situation on his property is causing them mental and emotional anguish. And much of the reminding is not done directly but through the little behind-the-back whispering avenues that criss-cross most neighborhoods.

Fortunately, the cranky old guy has an option to escape both the harping and the possible interruption, at a time of temperatures approaching the century mark, of the neighborhood’s electrical supply. That option is a place at the beach. So he’s off. Please give him a call when the situation has been resolved.

DSH