My back-door neighbors have, for the last few days, been slowly but surely dismantling their fence between our yards. Their fence was no great shakes, mind you, but it was tall and opaque. The fence on our side is a sad, short, and completely transparent chain-link affair.
This concerns me.
For one thing, their yard is not very attractive. They have no grass. Instead, they have white gravel, and a vast expanse of brick-paved patio. The mere foot between our yards could just as well be the a yawning gulf between Earth and a rocky, bricky planet, such as Mercury. Or maybe Mars, Mars is redder.
As their fence comes down, slowly, a few boards at a time, I find myself fending off some significant anxiety about my growing loss of privacy. When I work at my desk, which is all day and many evenings, that fence is always in my peripheral vision, protecting me. Without it, I can never feel completely comfortable. Any little thing I do could be observed.
Is it still safe to pick my teeth? Or wear my pajamas all day? Will these neighbors be judging me based on how poorly I take care of my fish, now that this information is available to them? Can I confidently play in the kiddie pool without fear of blinding an innocent stranger with the glare from my pallid white skin?
It may be that they are planning on putting up a newer, better fence. This would be tragic in its own way, because it would make our remaining fences look even sadder and more pathetic than they already had.
My kitchen is: Not bad, not bad. It got the complete spit & polish on Monday, as we had a guest over, and it takes at least a week for entropy to really set back in again...
Posted by andrea at August 18, 2004 02:10 PMBut think of the bright side! Those poor trapped scraggly trees growing between the two fences can finally be completely killed!
Hey, how did your blueberry bushes work out?
Posted by: michelle on August 18, 2004 06:18 PMYes. The trees MUST DIE.
I have no idea what became of the raspberry bushes. I can't find them anymore. My gardening attempts for this year are a total wash, I guess. Grrr.
Posted by: Andrea on August 18, 2004 06:22 PMoh, were they raspberries? Why was I thinking blueberries?
I wonder if your neighbors are bright enough to actually remove those trees before putting up a new fence.
My garden is pretty eh, too. We've both been too busy this summer to properly take care of things, I think. I'm already planning some sort of winter window herb garden to make up for it.
Posted by: michelle on August 18, 2004 06:36 PMOh, no, you're right. The raspberries were never delivered. The blueberries we planted, but they subsequently vanished. Who knows, maybe the lawn guys mowed 'em down. They DID just mow down one of my flower beds this week.
Posted by: Andrea on August 18, 2004 08:27 PMSeems to me you have to make them want to build a new fence. I could probably be convinced to stroll around you backyard in my boxers for an hour or two...
Posted by: Geezer on August 20, 2004 10:02 PMThat would make MY neighbors in PA put a tarp up
Posted by: Uncle Rick on August 20, 2004 10:08 PM