Community Forums

chasfm11 · 09-01-2009, 11:34 AM

Three recent situations have me scratching my head. I guess I'm just behind the times in my thinking.

- Our church is putting up an addition. Part of the new addition will be two stories and there will be some windows on the 2nd floor. While the plans, including all the set backs (the rear of the building is over 200 feet from the property line), were approved by the city and are within all regulations, a neighbor adjoining the rear property line has been complaining about the project because "they'll be able see into my backyard". Like almost all church buildings, that part will be used only a few days per week.
- We live on large lots. Most of our neighbors have 2-3 acres. One neighbor has pre-teen boys that ride motor bikes on their property. There are no ordnances against the practice and the noise level is well below city limits (an LEO has been summoned multiple times with a decibel meter). The single complainer called daily for weeks and was finally threatened with a citation if she called again. Now, the complaints come in annonomusly from pay phones. BTW, the complainer's property is part of an HOA that has a very contentious atmosphere. The larger properties are not part of the HOA nor covered by any of its covenants (thankfully.)
- I've been riding my bike for exercise for the past 4 years, 3 times a week on the city's designated bike trails. At one point, the bike trail empties onto the bus loop around an elementry school. It is about 100 yards up the bus loop to get to the nearby street. Today, I was stopped by the principal on that loop, told to leave and never come back. BTW, the playgrounds and the kids are all in the far side of the school, behind a fence. When I pointed out that the city had connected the trail with the bus loop, the principal's response was "you'll have take that up with them." His reason was that he "gets 20 calls from women about strange guys on bicycles." I'm well aware of the story in the news about the tragic abduction of the 11 year old girl but see little connection between that kind of a situation and an elderly guy in full bicycle gear pumping as fast as he can up a short road. The amazing part is this the the first time in 4 years that I've been approached.

I've come to expect that lawyers chasing frivolus law suits to, by defaut, put regulations on us as companies defend themselves against similar actions. I've also come to expect that for everything I do from camp fires to driving a diesel vehicle to eating meat and burning candles, there a "green" person there telling me how evil I am. It seems like we've come even further than that. Perhaps I'm just getting crotchty.

BryanL · 09-01-2009, 12:55 PM

and you can't park your RV at your house and then there's the campground behavior ...

But then, just look on these forums at how insistent some folks are about trailer hitch equipment, RV batteries, weights and loads, and how fast you should drive.

We seem to be in an age of massive intolerance but, maybe, it is something we just see a bit better because we can communicate so much easier yet are ever more distant from our friends and neighbors.

JackHammr' · 09-01-2009, 01:07 PM

Signs of the time I guess ..

Everytime our church has done something , we run into snags with the city , because the preachers brother was on the city council and stood up to the crap going on there ..

Fortunately we live in the country and dont have the other issues ..

We did have an issue where some people bought homes adjacent to farm land and complained because of tractors running at all hours .. They were dismissed ..

Ti5er · 09-01-2009, 01:58 PM

Or is because everyone is worried about what the other person is doing.I people are to nosie myself.

Jim Stewart · 09-01-2009, 05:17 PM

I'm not ignorant or apathetic, I just don't know and don't care!

Wayne M · 09-01-2009, 09:27 PM

I am neither for nor against apathy.

Doesn't sound like the principle or anyone else has an evidence of law breaking. Maybe you should put a sign around your neck that says, "Just an old man on a bike ride!"

Vette Racer · 09-01-2009, 10:13 PM

Just put a sign on your bike saying sex offender and watch the calls come in. At least it will give them something to do!

People are too, into themselves, IMO.

JRNOLL · 09-01-2009, 11:04 PM

Some people are not happy until they have someone else upset. They can't mind their own business but have to try and mind yours, just to prove they can do it.

quikduk · 09-02-2009, 08:52 AM

JRNOLL hit the nail right on the head IMHO.

I prefer when someone sticks their nose into my business to say "Thank you for your concern and your comments but this is none of your business and I was not talking to you."

That usually shuts them up...or elicits some under-the-breath expletive from them...hehehe.

I live in Kahlifornia...land of where everyone has an opinion and feels the need to express it... or impose it upon you

.

Jim, Wayne and Vette...too funny!

chasfm11 · 09-02-2009, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quikduk

J..land of where everyone has an opinion and feels the need to express it... or impose it upon you

.

Jim, Wayne and Vette...too funny!

Yep, it is latter part (impose it on you) that has me going. There are rules and laws and many people don't seem to want to pay any attention to those. When it comes to whims and opinions, I'm supposed to pay close attention and modify my behavior accordingly.

Life it too short to get embroiled in stuff. Every once in a while, I just have to step back and shake my head. Of the 3 examples, only the path through the elementary school lot will actually modify my behavior. I don't need to be talking to an LEO during my exercise ride. I didn't include it in my original write up but the Principal was a condescending, pompous A** when he talked to me. I've been out of teaching for 36 years and I'd forgotten how many Napoleon complex guys with D.ed. behind their name are in our education system. If I can figure that out in less than 3 minutes of one way conversation (I said less than a dozen words during the exchange), imagine his impact on the kids in his charge.

D in Davie · 09-02-2009, 07:47 PM

I think one of the things you learn in High school is the art of ignoring people who are unimportant to you. I think it was a principle that taught me that. I learned that about the same time that I learned how to control my own temper. As a retired LEO I suggest that you continue on your ride and let him make a fool of himself infront of the local police. It happens all the time. Police know that the person who calls is not often in the right, but just trying to intimidate someone or get his side of the story in first. Once you are known to the guy on the beat you will not be bothered.

KIX · 09-02-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D in Davie

I think one of the things you learn in High school is the art of ignoring people who are unimportant to you. I think it was a principle that taught me that. I learned that about the same time that I learned how to control my own temper. As a retired LEO I suggest that you continue on your ride and let him make a fool of himself infront of the local police. It happens all the time. Police know that the person who calls is not often in the right, but just trying to intimidate someone or get his side of the story in first. Once you are known to the guy on the beat you will not be bothered.

And THAT is exactly what I would do. I hope you will consider doing what D in Davie suggests. Actually if it were me I would continue riding there but just do it more often.

chasfm11 · 09-02-2009, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIX

And THAT is exactly what I would do. I hope you will consider doing what D in Davie suggests. Actually if it were me I would continue riding there but just do it more often.

I'm not sure that it is that important to me. My focus is my cardio-vascular health and interruptions to the my exercise period take away from the continuous exertion that I need. In addition, I'm not sure that I have much of a legal leg to stand on. It is public school property (even though it ties to the city property) and I don't know that "I'm just passing through" is going to be much of an argument on a repeated basis.

As I think about it, the principals approach is about what I expect. If he is receiving complaints (I have have no reason to believe there haven't been), he is the type that would simply "roll over" on them. There is no such a think as reasonableness in the public education system, in both my experiences as a teacher and as a parent. The system is set up to prosecute an old bicycle rider like me rather than any real "offenders." It is the same mentality as TSA taking the finger nail clippers away from 80 year old ladies and not being able to find the guns that are purposefully smuggled through the x ray machines. If the principal gets one complaint in a month, he will take it out on 20 people. That is just the way the mindset works. He can show his vast importance in "protecting the children." BTW, he bragged to me about throwing a woman off the school grounds, too. I'm sure she was a predator, just like me.

Don't get me wrong. My DW will attest to my willingness to stand up for my principles, even to a fault. But, over the years, I've learned to pick my battles. Riding through the school lot during school hours is not one I'm going to choose. Besides, my tolerance for pompous A**es has worn thin and I'm likely to say something that crosses a line that I might later wish that I hadn't. Wasn't there an old saying about discretion being the better part of valor?

read & learn · 09-03-2009, 08:07 AM

Until the school district puts up signs or fence stating that during school hours No One is Permitted on the Property except for School Business, remember it is still public property that you have the use of.
My question If the school is a distance from the connecting path and the kids behind a fence why was he out there? I am assuming you are using the Bus loop furthest from the school.