associated in random thought

the homewreckers association.

happy saturday from ridiculously hot texass, land of vast injustice, such as the saddening resignation of tamara hoover, who was strongarmed and disgraced by the austin school district. i'm very very angry with the good old boys at the top these days, and i haven't written anything over here on the blog because i didn't want to be a bitter little bitch.

but, today, i feel like a bitter little bitch.

this week has been emotional for our little family. on tuesday, helen and i travelled to houston to be with boomp as he underwent serious surgery at ninety. the days leading up to the actual surgery were time out of time, as we went about normal boomp activities: going out to dinner, watching baseball, talking about nashville. i couldn't help but think, in two days this guy will have no spleen or gall bladder. please be okay please be okay please be okay--boomp, can i have a beer?

we are happy to report that boomp made it through the surgery, and though he is fragile, he is still with us. relief.

on the day we left for houston, however, helen got a letter that has thrown us into a whole new realm of uncertainty and change.

it seems that there is a little-read, little-heeded home owners association (henceforth known as "ho ass") bylaw which states that each condo in our complex is only allowed one pet. most people in this privately owned community have multiple pets, mind you, and helen was clearly in violation when she moved in. and she's lived here four years. anyway, "it has been brought to the attention of the ho-ass" that we are in violation of this bylaw. we are to "be rid of all extra animals" by september 1, or else face a $50 fine per violation, per month.

needless to say, our pets are our family, and we take ridiculously good care of them. things are a little more crowded since we took in moe, but still. if it weren't for the constant vacuum war against dog hair, you wouldn't know we even had pets. at all.

we have no idea who has a problem with us. we thought we were popular models of good community. however, someone has targeted us for some strange reason (none of the other multiple pet owners have received the threatening notice), and we're being forced to act quickly. on tuesday night, we will go before the board and plead our case, and also make it known that we have no intention of "getting rid of" our pets. if they don't reconsider our situation, we will sell the condo.

we found out yesterday that the bylaw in question is in the process of being rewritten--what it will say, no one seems to agree on just yet--and so this one-pet-per-unit-that-no-one-acknowledges "violation" we're being hit with is, for all intents and purposes, bullshit. that, and the fact that one of the board members who will be responsible for our fate routinely feeds the feral cat colony that's taking over our hood.

i know that some people around here don't agree with our "lifestyle", but we're good neighbors! we're not squalid, skanky folk. and the ho-ass is totally fucking with our lives. we've worked too hard to build our little family, our little life, to have it messed with so arbitrarily. and when helen called the manager of the property--who signed off on the letter encouraging her to call with any questions or concerns--he acted like a slumlord, repeatedly calling us "offenders". and he didn't even remember writing the letter; his job is to simply sign off on the fates of his squatters, er, homeowners, based on anonymous complaints.

maybe it's the yankee in me, or maybe it's the latent adolescent, but i refuse to bow to the good ol boys. no offense, texas, but you sure have your share of bastards.

this pacifist is girding up her boxing loins.
oh, and we're also petitioning our neighbors for help.

here we go.

Posted by bananie at August 19, 2006 3:31 PM | TrackBack