The Yellow Curb Saga Continues

I can't believe this is still going on.

As you may recall, a couple years ago my neighbor Bill painted the curb in front of his house yellow, to create his own no parking zone. He then continued to tell his own guests to park there. However, whenever one of my guests would park there, he would leave rude notes on their cars or yell at them. He even yelled at me over the phone and hung up when I tried to discuss it with him.

Just last weekend, Bill had another party at his house. Hubby heard his daughter was getting married, and they were holding the rehearsal dinner at their house. Sure enough, when the guests arrived, cars were lined up and down the street – including that yellow curb in front of Bill’s house.

“I’m calling the police,” I threatened, reaching for the phone. I was so tired of this double-standard Bill held to his beloved frontside curb. But this time, Hubby seemed to have reached his limit too. He decided to walk over to Bill’s and have a chat with him. I followed him out the front door so I could hear.

Hubby couldn’t find Bill, but he met his daughter instead. “Hey, I’m the neighbor next door. Is there a way someone could move their car? It’s kind of hard for us to get out, and you’re really not supposed to park there.”

“Oh, sorry,” she explained. “We told guests they could park there.”

“You know it’s a yellow zone, right?” Hubby asked.

“I know,” she giggled. Then she added proudly, “My dad painted it.”

“Well,” Hubby began. “It’s been this kind of back-and-forth thing, with the City coming out and everything, and they determined it a no parking zone.”

“Oh,” she said. After a pause, she continued. “Well, let me get my dad, then.”

Soon after, another gentleman stepped out of the house and walked over to the car. It wasn’t Bill, but the car’s owner. We had to assume that Bill had confirmed our request and asked his guest to move his car.

So Bill’s daughter admitted he had painted the curb, and that they still let their guests park there. And now, he knows that we are aware of what he is doing. And that we’re not going to allow it anymore.

It’s amazing that I am trying to teach my children manners and how to be good citizens in society. And, yet, next door is a grown man who is still learning this lesson.

Yes, We Have Snow

There has been an abundance of snow here in Western Oregon. And that has lead to five snow days in a row. That is almost unheard of in this area. Four inches of snow... and counting...

I finally realized that snow to Oregonians is a lot like rain to Southern Californians. (I can say this because I lived in Southern California for 30 years.) When it rains in Southern California, the natives go nuts. They drive too slow, they constantly discuss the weather, and they try to avoid driving or even going outdoors. Oh, and the weatherman on TV is having a field day. He'll call it "Storm Watch 'o8," and then send a countless number of poor news people to report in different parts of the southland to interview passersby (the few there are) with questions like, "So... how is the weather affecting you today?" or "Wet out, isn't it?" Then he'll enthusiastically show you numerous maps and charts to explain how much rainfall there is, in inches, along with pictures of soaking wet pedestrians with umbrellas, schlepping through the rain just to walk to the local Starbucks.

This is because it hardly ever rains in Southern California, so a weatherman gets tired of the redundant "Sunny, with warm temperatures" forecast. The rain makes his job exciting. On the other hand, the natives are inconvenienced, confused, and wet -- and they hate that.

Oregon, on the other hand, is used to the rain. That is our redundancy, and our weather watchers get tired of the "Cloudy, with a 70% chance of rain" forecast. The natives drive the same whether it's sunny or rainy, because they are used to it. It's all part of life here in the Northwest. We go about our lives as usual, running errands, driving to work, even walking to school in the rain because that's life. That's the usual.

But then a snowstorm hits, and it becomes crazy here. The natives try to avoid driving at all costs -- even closing schools and several businesses due to the weather. The streets and stores are empty, even on the busiest shopping season of the year. Oh, and the weatherman is having a field day. She'll call it "Snow Watch '08," and then send a countless number of poor news people to report in different parts of the area to interview passersby (the few there are) with questions like "So... how is the weather affecting you today?" and "Cold out there, isn't it?" Then she'll enthusiastically show you numerous maps and charts to explain how many inches of snow we're getting, along with pictures of people schlepping through the snow just to get to their local Starbucks.

It made me wonder if the people living in Minnesota or North Dakota are laughing at us: "You call this SNOW?!" It's all relative.

Me ... I'm enjoying it. I think it's absolutely beautiful, and I use every opportunity I can to go outside and enjoy it. Hubby, the kids, and I have built a snowman, had a bunch of snowball fights, and eaten snowflakes off our tongues as they fall. We laughed as the cat tried to catch the flakes as they fall, and the dog runs around frantically with excitement. And when it's gotten too cold, we snuggle under blankets with hot chocolate (and me with hot coffee) while we watch a movie. The Wii has never been used as much, but we've also played board games, baked cookies, and done a lot of crafts. It's been fun, and we're using it as a time to spend together as a family. What could be better than that?