Firing The Neighbor: Part 2

So to recap, I put up a fence and then my neighbor painted it without asking me first. Shocking and a little bit strange, I know.

I am a firm believer in property rights - mine, to be specific. I get a little bent out of shape when I see people encroaching on my land (or my view). The former I have a right to, the latter merely an expectation.

So I made it clear that I expected her to pay to have it fixed; she claimed she couldn't afford it. (So why was she wasting paint on my fence? She apparently thought she was being "neighborly".)

"Look", I said, "you have clearly made a mistake. We all make mistakes. The important part is what you do about it. I have no wish to call the police, make a complaint, and sue you for the money, but I can. I'm sure you don't want that either, so let's make a deal."

"You buy me new pickets and rails. I'll try to sand the paint off the posts with my belt sander (yay, power tools!) and rebuild the fence. Your job is to get the paint off of my house, both siding and concrete. If this doesn't work, then I'm hiring someone to do it and you're paying for it."

"Deal?" Deal.

She had written us a note and put it on our doorstep asking us not to be "mad". I'm not happy, I told her, but I'm not mad. You make it right and then we'll be squared up; if not, then I'll be mad. Our religion tells us to be forgiving, but also to make up for our offenses.

So instead of fixing my shed door, ramp, and tractor I instead rebuilt the fence. And other than pulling some muscles in my back, every thing is mostly OK. Not great, but OK; I definitely wouldn't hire me to do this professionally.

I used this as an opportunity to show a little mercy while still insisting upon righting the wrongs. I also used it as a lesson for the Nodlings on how to resolve disputes and apply some Christian values at the same time. I was firm but I never raised my voice or called my neighbor nasty names. We solved the problem in the most economical manner and I donated all the sweat equity.

How many times must I forgive my neighbor? Seventy times seven, which means a whole lot. Some day I may be in need of the same.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Part 2

I posted before about my neighbor putting up a fence with her money to keep her dogs out of my yard. The workmen finally came and put it up. The small fence to the left belongs to my other back yard neighbor. Yes, my yard is that big.


She came over and was very apologetic that they put it up backwards (i.e., with the frame facing my yard instead of the smooth side). She offered to have them re-do it, but it was cold and raining, so I said no. Plus, having the frame on my side will give my kids something to climb on if that should become necessary. Also, when the fence shrinks as it dries, I can always put lumber on my side to "plug the holes" if the dog continues to be a problem.

So, for $85 dollars worth of taking the old deck wood to the dump, I got a new fence at no additional cost to me.

Bonus.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "five'll get you ten", or "ten'll get you twenty", but I've never heard "fifty will get you a thousand".

But that's the deal I was offered today. My neighbor has a dog that thinks it has to protect her yard from anyone who gets within a hundred feet. Only problem is my back yard is next to it. A couple of little Nodlings would make a great Scooby Snack for this large white menace.

The fence is old and starting to fall down; it is in sore need of replacement -- and it belongs to me. I'd do it, except that we just replaced the driveway to the tune of several thousand smackers. My neighbor is very solicitous, however, and has offered to replace my fence with a six foot version that isn't falling down.

All I had to do was clear a pile of old deck wood that I've been saving for "when I get around to it" for the last 4 years. A chain saw and a pick up truck later, I headed to the dump with my first load. I even got to use the knots that Wynken and I just learned at the Boy Scout camp last week to tie it down.

For the low price of $60/ton you can dump big heavy stuff at the Rte 66 Waste Transfer Station. So the deal is this: I dump my old junk for $50 bucks and clean up my yard, and she'll put up a shiny new fence at her expense to keep her slavering beast hound away from my kids.

I lose ownership of that section of fence, but who cares? Sounds like a deal, because of that other saying: "Good fences make good neighbors."