| Author | Message | ||
     Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 54 Registered: 3-2006  |
Today, at lunch, several of us decided to go to a new, upscale Italian place. It wasn't within walking distance, so we had to take two cars. It just so happened that the men went in one car and the women in another. The men arrived before we did, and when the maitre d' greeted us, he said "Are you guys with those guys?" Sheesh, I gotta start wearing skirts more often. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 65 Registered: 3-2006 |
Sometimes I retreat to the Ladies Lounge during the workday to get away from the insanity, the ringing phones, the endless sports related discussions that are always convened right outside my office door. Today I was in there primping,when I heard a disembodied voice from a stall,cackling,hooting, agreeing with some other unseen, but also unheard, voice. I stopped brushing my hair to listen. To my astonishment,a throaty chorus of the old Peggy Lee classic "Fever"was warbling forth. Then the familiar whoosh of plumbing. She continued her conversation, exited the stall,washed her hands(thank God for small mercies) and used the hand dryer, without pausing, or even taking a breath. I was transfixed. I must be as old as dirt. I can no longer distinguish between street people who are acting out, and a Gen Y'er who has no boundaries,not to mention privacy needs. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 658 Registered: 3-2006 |
I had one of the strangest days I have ever had today. I'm still shaking my head in befuddlement, and alternating among rage , hurt, and hilarity. At quarter after nine this morning I was ready to step into the shower and my doorbell rang. I can see the porch from the bathroom, and the window was cracked a little so I could hear, but peering through the shade and the curtains, I couldn't quite see who was at my door. The doorbell rang insistently again---and I felt trapped---here I was, completely starkers, and I was not about to answer the door in a towel. Initially I could hear voices , but,because the shower was running, couldn't immediately identify them. I turned off the shower and I heard them talking and walking around. DISEMBODIED VOICE#1: Geez, look at the house , the gutters are filthy* and paint is peeling. Look how overgrown the garden is. The lawn needs to be watered.The house is a mess! DISEMBODIED VOICE #2: Why is that a surprise? She let herself go, why wouldn't she let the house go? I'm going to walk around the back and see if I can see anything. #@*&! The storm door is locked!(accusatory) Did you call her? Did you tell her we were coming? DV#1: (defensive) NO! I did not call her! There I was, naked in the bathroom, and I hear that someone is going to be peering into my windows. By that time I realized who these women were. Let's call them DoDo and JoJo (those are good names for crazy clowns, aren't they?) And there is a back story---one that extends 30+ years to a small women's liberal arts college in upsate NY. It was the 70's and I'm surprised I remember as much of that time as I do. JoJo and DoDo were friends of mine from college who both live in each others' pockets in Bergen County. They are overinvolved in each others' lives (and pretty hair-raising lives they are)and there was a time when they were overinvolved in mine. After college the husbands called 6 of us "The Group" after an old Candice Bergen movie DoDo's daughter is getting married in Philadelphia next month. I flew to (of all places) Dayton ,Ohio when she was born. I went back when she was baptized. Here is a picture. I'm the one NOT in the bonnet.  I was this child's sponsor for confirmation. I was there when she received her Ph.D. from UPenn last year. I heard every excruciating , (boring) detail from her mother re:dresses, flowers, ceremony, music, menu etc. I was invited to the July 3rd family BBQ at her mother's house where the two families (well, 4, actually since both sets of the couple's parents are divorced and have new , blended families)and I was expected to provide 5 pounds of my homemade potato salad. So, when I received the bridal shower invitation last month, I was a little surprised that there was no list of places where the happy couple is registered. DoDo called right after I picked up the mail when I receievd the shower invitation and I asked her about that. DoDo told me that the registration list was included in the wedding invitations (DON'T TWIRL SO, IN YOUR GRAVE, EMILY POST!) I said: Well, shouldn't they have gone out by now? DoDo: ummm...yes.... well...hmmm, I've been meaning to talk to you about that... C: WHAT?!?!?! DoDo: Yeah well, if these cousins, you know them, Domenic and Serafina,from Long Island? If they don't come, honey, you'll be there... I didn't even hear what she was saying, I was saying over and over again: YOU D-Listed me???? You D-listed me??? Who do you think I am ? #@&*in' Kathy Griffin?!?! Yeah well, thanks for thinking about me (click) So, I don't know what they did for potato salad at the July 3 "Meet the Parents (and Parents and Parents)BBQ" I haven't returned DoDo's calls or e-mails. I believe the bridal shower was yesterday. I didn't feel compelled to RSVP---besides I had so many other things---serious things, going on in my own life it completely slipped my mind (sorry, Miss Manners--- Emily , darling, please don't spin like that, you will disconnect something) So I guess that is what precipitated the ambush this morning. I could hear them skulking around(in my overgrown gardens) trying to peek in. In an odd quirk of luck, because it was supposed to be so hot today, I had pulled all my shades down and drawn all the curtains, so that house wouldn't heat up. Ordinarily the only shades that come down are in my bedroom at night. DV#1: Can you see anything? DV#2 No, I can't see through this crack between the shade and the window----do you think the cats are still alive? DV#1 I don't know. Let's call them. Sarabeth! Simon! Sarabeth! Here Kitty, kittty,kitty kitty! Sarabeth, who had been sitting on the bathroom counter having a liesurely bath herself---heard this commotion and dove under the nearest chair. I was shaking with a combination of laughter and terror that the snoop sisters were going to call the cops who would burst in on me in the altogether (a scary thought---for them) They sat in my driveway for half an hour. I ran out to do some errands (have to feed those cats, lest they eat my face and make me unreconizable when I off myself) and when I came home I picked up the mail from yesterday which was still in the box. There was a dog earred paperback novel from some pedestrian author I have never heard of and in it was a note in childish scrawl: "C--- DoDo and I were here! We are very worried about you! Thought you might have wanted to go to brunch! I thought you might enjoy this book! Please contact DoDo or I so we know you are still alive!" Every sentence was punctuated with an exclamation point. I read this very strange note as I was headed back to the garage to unload the car. I was getting a bag of cat food out of the trunk when a Prius pulled right up to the threshold of the garage effectively blocking my way out. They jumped out of the car like a couple of deranged, very well-dressed junior G-men. "We were so worried about you!" "WHY?" "You don't return phone calls, you don't respond to e-mails..." "Wait a minute. I didn't get any e-mails. And, JoJo, I returned your phone call from the Berkshires---you didn't leave a number so I left a message on your home phone." "Oh, I never check my messages." "Do you check your caller ID?" "I can't figure out how that thing works" "Are you OK?" "I was, until the stalking incident." Expressions of horror "A STALKING INCIDENT? OMIDOG! WHEN WAS THAT????" "This morning. A couple of lunatics were stomping on my hydrangeas trying to look in my windows. It terrified me." "Oh HAHAHAHA! That wasn't lunatics...that was US!" I hit the garage door opener and Jo Jo bent down as the door was closing and yelled in: "So, do you want to go to brunch?" I have to make new friends. *I contracted to have the gutters cleaned tomorrow | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2148 Registered: 5-2005  |
Calli, I read that in disbelief. All I can say is people like that will never understand or appreciate a class act like you. I hope you think of me as a new friend, and I like you (as do the sopettes!) just the way you are Dirty gutters and all....  | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 659 Registered: 3-2006 |
And every word of it is true! I couldn't make that up if I tried. Thank you SOP,I appreciate it more than you will ever know. You are definitely a new friend, charming, witty and kind. I know you will never change. (why do I keep hearing an old Billy Joel song in my head) Calli and give the Sopettes a big HUG from me tonight! Oh, it is after 10---they must be in dreamland by now, well, first thing tomorrow then! | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 2046 Registered: 10-2002  |
C - How disappointing all around. It can really sting when you learn of a friend's "not-so-nice" side. Sorry you're going through this. I don't know you "in person", but based on your posts, I can tell you're a caring person, and I have no doubt you have other friends in your life who are true friends to you and appreciate you. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 669 Registered: 3-2006 |
Thanks, LilLB. You know, I have been very blessed, and have a lot of friends,deep close friends , many of whom I have known more than 20 years, and some newer friends who love,cherish and respect me, and I, them. When I started college (and these two were friends because of proximity more than anything else, their dorm rooms were close to mine)I thought we all had similar values and backgrounds. And while that may have been true then, so many things have molded us to be the adults we are today. It is sad to see that those who shared of the memory of my youth, are not good stewards. But ultimately, I,alone, keep my memories. And while some of the friendship I made along the way may be tarnished, the memories are pue gold. Thank you for your kind words. They are very meaningful to me. Calli | ||
| bets Supporter Username: Bets Post Number: 23590 Registered: 6-2001  |
Wow. That's unbelievable! Thanks to the karmic wheel of life those old biddies will get what's coming to them! You, my dear, are obviously of much better quality. I look forward to having a coffee with you, SO Parents, and the sopettes one day soon. | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2151 Registered: 5-2005 |
Let's arrange it soon. I will PL you both. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 670 Registered: 3-2006 |
Dear Bets, Oh, I've got a million stories!(just ask las!) Thanks for the vote of confidence, (but you haven't seen how I , much like my gardens, have "gone to seed." I think that is what is really getting to me because I still think I scrub up ok) SOP is going to play "Julie, the Social Director" and we will have coffee very soon. And what is the progress on capturing my little namesake? Calli | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2153 Registered: 5-2005 |
Calli, Let NOTHING they had to say get to you... I met you for the first time on Saturday. I don't care who you were, or what you looked liked, or who you socialised with "back then".... what I saw and LIKED on Saturday is who you are NOW, which is a very very likeable, caring, intelligent, approachable and funny lady who also happens to scrub up very well. AS the saying goes, when life hands you lemons.... ....throw them at people like those two. SOP (AKA Julie the social director) | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 672 Registered: 3-2006 |
SOP, Yes, I must brush up on my fruit lofting technique which seems to be a recurrent theme on this board! I can't help thinking about this incident---how they spoke to each other about me without any censorship, because they had no idea I was listening,and also, how their houses, and mine, are metaphors for ourselves. I have ALWAYS been very inwardly directed. Maybe that was because,when I was growing up, I never really had to worry about the outside things ---thank God for good genes and inspired parents. I was never wracked with cystic acne as DoDo was. (I would occasionally get a "pimple of the month" which I thought looked like Barnegat Light,but was nothing more than a glow worm, in reality)I didn't have an oversize nose that dominated my every thought as JoJo had (she had rhinoplasty for her 40th birthday) And while I always thought I was fat (fool that I was, 120 pounds on a 5 foot frame is not FAT, it is feminine)I just enjoyed all of life's appetites to let it bother me much. As we grew older, our lives took completely different paths,and while the 2 of them are the die-hard church-goers, my path was always spiritual, learning, the hard way, but early on, that the only reason we are on this planet, is for each other. In a wry twist,both of them have lovely homes in Bergen County. They have mainicured lawns, and, of course, pristine gutters. But they live in utter chaos. One is a hoarder of books, magazines,crumpled cigarette cartons and who knows what else. The other is just a slob---not a square inch of counterspace is to be had in her kitchen for it is all taken up with spilled cereal,open containers, recycling,pots, pans, dirty glasses and dishes. (The one and only time she and I went on vacation, many years ago , when she was between marriages, I ended up going up one side of her and down the other for strewing her belongings all over the room---including on my bed--and leaving soaking towels on the floor wherever she dropped them. Her response to me was: that was why the hotel employed the maids.)I've never judged either of them, and always was careful to emphasize that I was there to see them, not to critisize their talents as hausfraus. But I see this as so revealing. Anyway, my house is a work in progress. Yes, the paint is peeling, yes, the grass needs watering, the gardens should be thinned, and the brick re-pointed. However, I am never ashamed to let people in, and I hope they find it welcoming and comfortable. And, I guess our bodies are the same way. We all have some mileage,but theirs are like 10 miles of patched road--carefully maintained, and they will get you to your destination in a jiffy, and I'd rather think of myself as a country lane,not that well paved,bumpy,but offering opportunities for a little meandering, beauty, adventure, and a pleasant ride. (I just re-read that---it can be interpreted in, oh, so many ways...so be it) So, while I put so much stock in my friendships, since I have so little family, I know in my heart that while we have a lengthy history, we haven't been friends for a long, long time. C | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2156 Registered: 5-2005 |
Calli, Bumpy roads are normally that way as they are the favoured route of people... roads that stay "pristine" are that way as no-one wishes to travel on them- they are lonely. May many a person travel on your lumps and bumps and be a better person for doing so! SOP  | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 677 Registered: 3-2006 |
SOP You are very wise, for one so young  c | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2159 Registered: 5-2005 |
Flatterer  | ||
| las Citizen Username: Las Post Number: 2079 Registered: 10-2003  |
Calli - you are just as beautiful today as you were in that photo! I'm so sorry you had to witness such a betrayal. The neet thing about this group of friends we've made virtually and have extended to real life: we say it to your face. I promise I will always insult you point-blank and never whisper behind your back. You're rich, Calli. You've got an entire cheering section to prove it. It's okay to move on; it's okay to retire friends. So long as you keep making new ones, which you do. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 681 Registered: 3-2006 |
Las, You are too funny (and what you say is too true!---well, the beautiful part is open to dispute...but thank you---who isn't beautiful at 23?) The neet thing about this group of friends we've made virtually and have extended to real life: we say it to your face. You know what Abraham Lincoln said: "If I were two-faced,sir, would I be wearing THIS one?" I feel a little better, thanks to all of you. Bless you all, C Las, we are planning a kaffe klatch, do you want in? | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 786 Registered: 3-2006 |
Curiouser and curiouser. DoDo and JoJo have not been in touch with me. However, they each called one of our old group to "check up" on me---to determine if I were truly suicidal. I had an e-mail from Carole who said she "was not going to get involved"...but wanted my "side of the story." And when I was speaking to my best friend from College yesterday, MEL, I asked her if she had heard from them. She admitted DoDo called her, and she said: "Screw you, DoDo!" or words to that effect (she did a stint in the army---so I imagine, despite her proper upbringing, it was rather more colorful than that) Anyway---we were crying with laughter as I described the Snoop Sisters trying to peer into my windows while I was trapped in the altogether, in the bathroom! So I am processing, and truly finding the humor in this. But I am shedding old friends like my cats shed their winter coats. C | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2518 Registered: 5-2005 |
Calli, cats shed their old, tired and manky coats to make way for new shiny ones...so your old friends were tired and manky, I hope the new ones are as shiny as you want them to be!! Meow xx | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 793 Registered: 3-2006 |
SOP, Thanks---you are wise. I suppose it is my sentimentality getting to me,mourning a loss--just a couple more links in a long chain of losses. My mother used to say: You take your lumps in life. You just have to discern whether these are lumps in your oatmeal, lumps in your mattress or lumps in your breast. I guess I just have lumpy oatmeal. C | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 819 Registered: 3-2006 |
Maybe someday I will write about this in depth, but I'm just not ready yet. But in the face of all my feelings of betrayal and mistrust and mourning old friendships dying, I had something really reaffirming happen today. Yesterday, my former supervisor, and his supervisor were deposed in a lawsuit in which I am a plaintiff (yeah---I'm a lawyer---why would I actually choose to be a litigant???? I ask myself that daily)---and no, I'm not suing them, they were fact witnesses called by the defendants, to testify about my injuries. Anyway, in the post-mortem with my attorney today, she told me what a strong case they presented for me. In telling me about the testimony she said: "These people really love you!" I choked up and said "And I love them." And I realized how truly blessed I am that people who know the contemporary me---not some silly,sarcastic college girl,someone I used to be, but people who, fundamentally, I respect and like as humans, not just colleagues,and they harbor respect and true affection for me. It was leveling, at a time when I am feeling unappreciated and unloved. Sometimes I just need a konk on the head... | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2545 Registered: 5-2005 |
KONK........  | ||
| Gregor Samsa Citizen Username: Oldsctls67  Post Number: 579 Registered: 11-2002  |
Calli, Forget about your dumb college friends...I barely associate with any of mine anymore. I thought I waould always be close to the guy who was the best man at my wedding, but we're not anymore. People get older and their priorities/lives change. After a while I had to stop pretending I was the same person I was back then. Also, you have friends like George Bailey has friends...If you ever needed help people would be lined up around the block (myself included). | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 824 Registered: 3-2006 |
Also, you have friends like George Bailey has friends...If you ever needed help people would be lined up around the block (myself included). Wow, I am overwhelmed---thank you, Gregor, I am deeply moved. And SOP---now I know where to get a good konk when I need one. Calli All this time I was living in Bedford Falls, and never knew it! | ||
| Shanabana Citizen Username: Shanabana Post Number: 874 Registered: 10-2005  |
Calli: Glad to see you started a blog. Wow, what a doosie of a story! With friends like that, who needs stalkers? You've gootten great comments, full of merit. I love that picture, btw. I also love your cats names! | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 827 Registered: 3-2006 |
Shanabana, Thanks for reading! Are you back in civilization now,or still on that OTHER coast? I've got a million stories----most fiction doesn't play as oddly as my real life! I am really grateful for all the comments here and for the wonderful people I have met online and in my real life. Maybe I will relate how Simon and Sarabeth came into my life---I bet they both have "tails" to tell. My plans for them in the future is to star in a children's book that has been knocking around in my poor, damaged brain for a long time. Thanks again for your time and your thoughts, Calli | ||
| bets Supporter Username: Bets Post Number: 23764 Registered: 6-2001 |
You and SoPa should both write children's books! Become millionaires and hire me to do nothing for a three figure salary! Perfect! | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 830 Registered: 3-2006 |
Do nothing!?! Oh no bets---not for that princely salary----you would have to pet sit for all my homeless animals!!!!! | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2549 Registered: 5-2005 |
 | ||
| emmie Supporter Username: Emmie Post Number: 821 Registered: 3-2002  |
Calli, I read your story last week and have come up with some new names for Doo Doo, excuse me, Do Do and Poo Poo, um I meant Jo Jo. I am afraid, however, that they would just be show up as a bunch of red dots here. What unmitigated nerve! Time to dump them, you deserve better. Don't waste your emotional energy mourning their loss. Just not worth it. I hope you will, when you are ready, go into depth regarding your Aug. 2 post. Glad to know I have some "good luck" birds living on my front porch! | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 837 Registered: 3-2006 |
Hi Emmie! I know you are right---and I get the drift about their names! It is still hard to completely disconnect when there is so much history there---in a way, I guess, it is akin to a divorce. All this is layered against another background of some simultaneous unsuccessful personal relationships---it must be in my stars-- Enjoy your little wrens--- I have Carolins wrens living in a spruce in my yard---they are NOISY little birds! Lots of chatter---not much substance----sort of like DoDo and JoJo, eh? C Did your mom make it to her destination with a little extra spending money? | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 840 Registered: 3-2006 |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/08/02/AR2006080201273pf .html I read this article with mingled envy and horror. The horror comes from realizing things could be a whole lot worse. I have the neighbor from hell. Well, I don’t know if it is hell ,exactly, but it is some awful place. This article inspired me to relate here the many adventures of “Franco and the Screaming Parrots”---sounds like a Reggae group, eh?My backdoor neighbor has a Cockatoo and a Hyacinth Macaw. In the nice weather he parks them outside in the farthest reaches of his yardand they scream----relentlessly all day. Of course the farthest reaches of his yard is closest to mine. That is the least of my problems with these neighbors. It gets worse. Believe me, it gets far, far worse. And I have the photos to prove it! In 1996 I moved in with my dad after he went from skiing one day, to having an angiogram and stroking on the table the next. I packed up my life and my cat, and spent the next seven years with my dad (a story from another day) This is not the house I grew up in. My parents bought a ranch house when my maternal grandmother announced to my mom that she was moving back to New Jersey from Florida, and could no longer negotiate stairs. Detect a family pattern here? In any event, although not my personal taste, the ranch has proved a boon when my dad stroked, and then, subsequently, when I was in a serious car accident. The house is on a very quiet, wooded, cul-de-sac, and all the neighbors, with one notable exception, are wonderful. The town boundaries run through the backyard, so my backdoor neighbor, Franco, actually resides in the adjoining town. The young family who originally lived where Franco’s family is now, simply outgrew (in income and children)their home with its lovely shaded lot and pool. I had been living with my dad for a couple of years when they moved out and Franco’s family moved in. And they moved in with a bang, literally. One Saturday morning, at 6:45 am, mind you, I was drowsing, and dreaming of enormous honeybees and a huge hive. Suddenly,I was wide awake and realized that that buzzing I heard was actually a power saw---and it was alarmingly close. I peered out and saw huge boughs falling from the stand of conifers at the back of our property{}. I ran outside (in t-shirt boxers and bare feet---what a fetching fashion statement!) My dad was sitting at the kitchen table eating his oatmeal and listening to the radio. “Whazzamatter???” he asked, standing up and staring at me as I tore through the kitchen. “C’mon! There’s a massacre!” “WHAT?” “Someone is destroying our trees!” An unattractive scene ensued as I shrieked like a banshee at this man wielding a chainsaw. He had leaned over the 4 foot fence, had already hacked off one tulip tree to the height of the fence{}, and was systematically removing all the branches facing his property , but which were entirely on my property on MY trees!!! Now, this was the height of presumption. I would not have had a problem if he had just trimmed the branches back to his property line, but he had leaned over the fence and actually cut all the overhanging branches back to the trunk. That was the beginning of the blood feud, made more problematic by his inability to adequately read, write or speak English. Eventually, he completely denuded his property of large, mature, shade trees, earning my father’s nickname for him as “Agent Orange.” There are other, equally irritating episodes of un-neighborly behavior but I will fast forward to January 2005 when I was undecorating my Christmas tree. I heard a commotion and couldn’t quite locate where the noise was coming from. I happened to look up and there, about sixty feet up in my white maple is some strange man, jabbering in a language I could not understand to someone obviously standing on the otherside of Franco’s 8 foot fence! Upon closer observation, I saw this man was rigged up withropes and pullies, and was wielding---what else?—a CHAINSAW!!! In a reprise of the scene from a couple of years before I went scurrying outside (in my bare feet, but this was January, not July) and screamed like a fishwife. Excruciatingly long story only slightly shorter, the local gendarmes were called and the one standing in my yard asked that the man in the tree be called to get down (since he spoke no English) Franco refused. The cop said:”Sir, I am going to ask you one more time ,please remove that man from the tree, and if this lady doesn’t swear out a criminal trespass complaint , I will.” Round one (sort of) to me. Unfortuantely I received a letter from Franco’s attorney (everything gets so UGLY when lawyers are involved) which required I retain counsel---yadayadayada--- an agreement was drafted in which I agreed to allow Franco access to my property for a bonded tree company to trim back the branches at his expense. He refused to sign it. OK, Round two, to me (sort of) A couple of months later I was served to appear in the municipal court of Town B, complaining that I harbored an “offensive” tree on my property which shed leaves into Franco’s pool. Now, I have an Irish temper and a very expensive legal education (neither of which I use very much) but I was STEAMED!!! I called Town A and explained that I had just been served, and they might want to know about it, since there is a 20 foot easement in my yard where there is a catch basin, and a paper street, and said white maple is on the easement. I got a call from Town B saying they were dismissing the complaint because Town A was exerting jurisdiction. Round three to me! However, last May I ended up in arbitration before 2 non-attorneys whose job it is to pour oil on neighbors’ troubled water. Franco and his wife became very agitated and belligerent accusing me of being a bad property owner and suggesting that I come to their house and clean their pool. I said that they could trim the branches back to the property line, at their expense, and presented the unexecuted agreement. I also told them that the tree is the only buffer between my property and the huge stadium lighting they have installed around their pool[]. They both jumped on me and said “We don’t use those big lights!” [] I produced these pictures with the date/time stamp (it was the night before the hearing at 11:46 PM) and said that without switching a light on in my house, I could read a newspaper in my bedroom with the curtains drawn when their lights were on. The arbitrators pondered all this, and came up with the brilliant solution that I should split the cost to have the trees trimmed. If they asked me once they asked me 6 times if it was ok for Franco to trim the tree on his side of the fence. I patiently stated yes, as long as it didn’t involve trespassing on my land and that they were only trimmed back to the line. When they asked me the 7 th time I said: “Look, I don’t care what they do on their side of the fence---they can festoon the limbs with streamers, balloons and blue bottomed baboons--I don’t care! I just don’t want him or any of his myrmidons setting foot on my property, because he WILL sue me. That is why we are here today.” And that is how we left it---a year ago May. Since that time I have endured screaming parrots----children interminably playing “Marco Polo” and a poison campaign against my climatis. And that is why I am so envious of the neighbors who forced the cockatoos to move. DRAT! I can't upload the pictures---if you are a masochist--PL me and I will gladly bore you with photos | ||
| Joanne G Citizen Username: Joanne Post Number: 458 Registered: 10-2004 |
maybe I can find you something that shows how dangerous it is to cockatoos to keep them in cages???? the farmers around here actually want to shoot them as they denude the tops of trees when they roost there - they eat all the green stuff and then just poop white all over the cows etc. I don't even think it's legal to keep cockatoos in cages here unless you're a zoo... anyway, hang in there - you'll win against all the 'turkeys' in your world! J& Min XXX | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 862 Registered: 3-2006 |
Thanks Joanne--- I do seem to have more than my share of "turkeys" don't I ? My only consolation is they are outweighed by the truly wonderful people in my life!(real and virtual , I might add ) Believe it or not there was actually peace and quiet over there when I had friends over this afternoon--- I am about to grill a steak---let's hope it remains quiet! BTW, since you are in the Southern hemisphere---you may not have heard--our heatwave finally broke and today was a spectacular 84 degrees F! Blue skies, slight breeze---good friends---what could be better? C | ||
| Joanne G Citizen Username: Joanne Post Number: 472 Registered: 10-2004 |
and strangely - we are bursting into spring weather - still crisp below-zero nights, and yet blossom on trees, and spring bulbs slowly welling to bloom in the next week or so...I love this time of year. Your neighbour's cocky (sorry if that sounds rude) will be missing golden Cootamundra wattle: find a copy of the John Williamson song and flash a pic of the blooms! plus it will be mating time on 'our' seasonal clock so he might be missing out...! | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 934 Registered: 3-2006 |
Well, Joanne, my winged neighbors were fairly quiet on this awe-inspiring Sunday. I managed to read, listen to music and just be this afternoon. The poor things are set out on stands with their ankles tethered to their perches. I have already called animal control (and the police) in the past. They do nothing. I always get a slightly uneasy feeling on these perfect late summer days---this kind of chrystalline day was exactly like the weather on 9/11---add to that all the foiled terrorism plots and the foreign students who are "lost" in NJ, and I find it unsettling. I know the anniversary is coming soon. I was so lucky that everyone I loved, and should have been there, for a series of coincidences (if you believe in such things---personally, I call them Providence) was safe and not where they were expected to be. I was so lucky, many I knew were not. Ahhhhh,bless them all. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 943 Registered: 3-2006 |
Just when I started softening my heart(for I do believe that to be unforgiving does more harm to me than the one whom I can't forgive) DoDo e-mailed me pictures of the wedding which was this past , gorgeous Saturday. I don't get it. | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2669 Registered: 5-2005 |
Calli, THEY don't get it. Focus on what's good in your life and who's important in your life. A lot of things have a sell by date, and that also applies to some friendships. Have a glass of wine and toast your future, because it's a good one. SOP x | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 944 Registered: 3-2006 |
A lot of things have a sell by date, and that also applies to some friendships. A point to ponder. Thanks SOP. The worst part was when I was looking at the pictures I felt so attached. She did make a beautiful bride. It is not her fault that she has a mother who is a looney tune.  hey, maybe the expalanation is DoDo has Wabbit Fever! | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1004 Registered: 3-2006 |
On Sunday ,when Rhonda and Tonya were here, I had a surprising phone call and I just called him back today. JoJo's son#2 called. He is living in Atlanta and just sat for the Bar at the end of July. He's having a little bit of a meltdown,not getting any support from his parents, so he called his Aunt Calli. This kid (young man, now,he's 25)always got short shrift in his household, and I tried to give him a little extra attention when I could. When he was 10 years old, I was seriously ill. One day, when I called his mom and he answered the phone he said: "Aunt Calli, I saw the perfect house for us! Mom ,Dad and my brother can live in the big house and you can live in the cottage in the back!" "And where will you live?" I asked. "Why, I'll live in the cottage so I can take care of you,of course." When he was in college a few years ago, he came out to me, before he came out to his family (years before), so, while I don't hear from him often, he recognizes there is a true bond of trust and affection there. He told me he has an offer of a job from the State of Georgia, but the salary is dismal. I think by the time we got off the phone,he was feeling better about his chances for passing the bar (if I can do it, anybody can do it)and was inclined to accept the offer --- I told him working for the State is a pretty good gig. He's happy in Atlanta. His apartment is in a great part of the city, he's dating, and he's made some new friends. And he gets not one word of support or encouragement from his parents---and I believe him. So,sometimes, why do the people who have kids, not appreciate them, and why do I ache for them? | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2759 Registered: 5-2005 |
Calli, there will always be people who never appreciate what they have, be it something like a semi decent car, or the gift of a child. Put yourself in the position of that child Calli, for instance, your "nephew". Do you understand how vitally important you are to this young man? You probably have to accept more of the credit for the man he is, and where he is in his life than his parents. I am sure he's not the only child that you have nurtured and encouraged. My two love you too. It may be lifes plan that you do not have a child of your own, but you must understand that to other people out there, young and old, people you have met and those you are yet to meet, you are more of a mother, more of an aunt, and more of an inspiration than possibly anyone else they have ever met. SOP x | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2760 Registered: 5-2005 |
PS... Konk. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1005 Registered: 3-2006 |
SOP I'd like to think you are right---"inspiration" is a BIG word-- I don't think it fits, but it is a very nice thought. And I love the Sopettes---and their very kind and wise mum--- When Rhonda was here on Sunday (and she is magic with dogs) I showed her the picture of Max, before I told her about him, and her exact words were: "What a sweet, sweet soul!" And what is going on with him--->sssssssssssnipped< yet?(those extra "s"es were courtesy of Simon sauntering across the keyboard----perhaps he remembers?) Calli | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2762 Registered: 5-2005 |
Max has the snip scheduled on Friday (Got to get him there before 10am) I have explained to the sopettes that Maxie has a little operation on Friday and they were worried they would get one too... I confidently explained that that is one op they will never ever have to worry about having! Inspiration is a big word, yes. What makes you think it doesn't fit? Oh, you didn't get my konk did you? Well, KONK KONK KONK. It's very hard to see ourselves the way others see us, so I will explain to you what people see in you. (No particular order) Intelligence Compassion A kind and old soul Caring Loyalty Approachability Humour Strength Fortitude Tenacity Dignity Understanding. Calli, I could go on, but I need to get the kiddies to bed, but you get my drift don't you? I think for whatever reason, you sell yourself short. I believe that you are so much more than you give yourself credit for. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1010 Registered: 3-2006 |
Thanks for the KONK! hmmmmm, I didn't see "breathtakingly beautiful" on that list  | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2764 Registered: 5-2005 |
"Calli, I could go on, but I need to get the kiddies to bed, but you get my drift don't you?" Hey, I didn't want you to get too big headed - I had to leave a couple of things out! |
