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Hosea 8: 7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
Life has a way of "rewarding" people in different ways. Saturday I went over to greet a woman and her husband who were visiting the property across the street from mine. Bonnie, who now lives in another state, was visiting family members - and the home where she grew up. She stopped by to inspect the cleanup work recently done to prepare the two-acre parcel for sale. We had a most interesting chat, especially when the subjects turned to:
It seems our very own, home-grown-in-the-neighborhood,
Florence and Her Merry Troupe of Nightingale Nurses had inveigled* the widowed owner (Bonnie's mother) to allow them to "place" their dog in her front yard for protection and allow them to "store" their travel trailer in her driveway to give the place a "lived in" appearance. (Probably because they couldn't cram one more big metal box onto their own half-acre business yard (actually an R-1 residential lot) without causing vehicular gridlock! That would be bad for business...)
Anyway, last October, Bonnie called and asked the
Barefoot Dirty Girls to move the travel trailer. She was assured it would be taken care of... but it wasn't. (No big surprise to those who know the BDGs.)
I was unaware of Bonnie's dealings when, on the last day of last November, I filed a code enforcement complaint on the travel trailer at 785 Fishback for noncompliance with a city ordinance. I knew the problem would eventually go home to roost where it ought; my only hope was that the owner of 785 Fishback (Bonnie) would not be too inconvenienced. This back story has to be the reason for the surprisingly fast code enforcement response.
After the December 1st inspection (
Shim Sham Shimmy), a Notice of Violation was issued on December 7th. Indeed, Bonnie's mom got the notice - with its imminent fine in the event of noncompliance. Bonnie called Manteca police and code enforcement and got one story, then called the BDGs and got a different story - and an insolent hang-up by the alpha female. In an immediate followup call, Bonnie delivered an ultimatum - either move the trailer NOW, or it will be towed. On December 13th, the homeless travel trailer was moved across the street to 810 Fishback, to proudly take up residence alongside the myriad cast-offs and detritus** of a failed business, and other nonconforming uses maintained by the ex-
T-u
LCers.
And here's some redneck humor for you - the BDGs also demanded $3,000 for the gravel they dumped across the street to park their travel trailer on. Three thousand dollars would buy thirty-three cubic yards of crushed basalt. A
local price for crushed basalt (delivered) is $90.95 per cubic yard. Five yards are around $450. What shysters!... Go pound rocks into sand!
Also during the recent property cleanup, some stuff in a shed started going into dumpsters - until the BDGs came screaming across the street and claiming ownership of the junk. They were told the items would be stacked in the carport and they could reclaim it from there; anything remaining would be tossed.
As the modern-day story unfolded, two things came to mind. The first was a statement Lynda made March 3, 2009 in city council meeting.
Ms. Allen: ... I've been there so long and actually I took care of the... the owners of that house we took care of 'til they passed away. And then the daughter come in, and somehow they...
She made it appear she was taking care of the owners and property at 786 Fishback as well as the owner and property at 785 Fishback. (See? The neighborhood Florence Nightingale. But don't believe it - she uses and abuses people to her own ends.)
The second thing that came to mind is a very ancient tale:
The Camel's Nose In The Tent
One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.
A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.
Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
Nahum 1: 3 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
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* inveigle [ɪnˈviːgəl] (verb) to lead someone into a situation or persuade to do something by cleverness or trickery; cajole. Ex., to inveigle customers into spending more.
[from Old French
avogler to blind, deceive, from
avogle blind, from Medieval Latin "
ab oculis" without eyes]
** detritus (noun) debris: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up;
loose material, such as stone fragments, silt, etc. that is worn away from rocks.
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