I have noticed a phenomenon that appears to be occurring on our block. I call it the blurring of property lines. To understand this phenomenon, one needs to have a grasp of the social stratification of NCBC interrelationships. To begin with, people tend to stay awhile. There are exceptions, but the majority who move into the confines of NCBC, whether they intended to or not, end up setting down some roots. It all starts innocently enough with your daily coming and going, receiving a smile and a nod from a nearby neighbor. After a few weeks, this pattern graduates into introductions and a welcome to the neighborhood from several neighbors. Before long you’re involved in conversations of weather, the joys of living in homes that qualify as antiques, and what does one have to do to get a newspaper delivered around here. I would call this the NCBC "Neighbor” level of social interrelationship.
To reach the next level, ”Friend”, one has to begin attending NCBC functions at least on an occasional basis. Three ingredients you can just about count on at any NCBC event are food, beverage, and music. Now interestingly, it is the very exchange of food and beverage that provides the catalyst for moving from the "Neighbor" level to the "Friend" level. How does this happen? Usually by an over consumption of food & beverage which often leads to an over sharing of personal information. This can include behavior that at the moment seemed extremely witty and entertaining but upon reflection does not stand the test of time, usually by the next morning. On the plus side, this type of activity does cement friendships and gets you a permanent entry into the NCBC book of, "Do You Remember When".
The "Family" level of NCBC interrelationship is the third and final level. (Anything beyond this final level I personally find frightening). Now the ”Family” level is not for everyone and that is quite all right. Some folks say, "Have enough problems with the family I was born into, don’t need another thank you very much.” That’s cool - not a problem. Other folks say, "Had a family once, not goin down that road again”. We understand. But if you find yourself associated with NCBC more years than you care to share, and you keep coming back for more, its safe to say you’ve adopted the credo of founding father Jack Hoppus - ”Isn’t nice we could all get together” and therefore you are ”Family”. The beauty of this system is that you can operate at any level you’re comfortable with. You can even move between levels as your life dictates. There is some debate however, as to whether moving from Neighbor to Friend to Family is considered social climbing or social declining.
Now to the point of this article - ”The Blurring of Property Lines”. It appears to me that a byproduct of these close relationships between neighbors is resulting in property lines that are dissolving in numerous locations in the neighborhood. Some cases in point:
- Without a doubt the most famous would be the intersection of 50 College with 516 Fountain at a point where the backyards come together. Its the worst kept secret of NCBC and is the site of more ”Family” reunions over the course of a summer, than most families have in a lifetime. What’s more, the principals involved have looked into who actually owns this unusual site at the corner junction, and after viewing surveys, the results are inconclusive. There seems to be conflicting information in the surveys. So they all decided to just fageddaboudit!
- A monster of a hedge once separated the homes at 31 & 45 College. A mutual decision to tame the beast was made by Jodie Vokes and Chris & Heidi Bailey. In its place is a nicely maintained shrub and ground cover that invites rather than inhibits neighborly behavior.
- A picket fence once separated the Martins from the Hoppus / Boylan's. Ok, so it wasn't tall enough to fence in a chihuahua. The point is the fence is gone and in its place is a lovely garden of flowers. Where the property line went to, is not an issue.
- 27 / 29 College, the homes of Char and myself and Dianne & Doug Thole. Another hedge, this time 5 foot in height and stretching 40 feet in length, established the border between the North and the South. The war between the properties ended back in 86' when Char & I bought out the rebels and sent them packing. This was a source of great joy to our northern neighbor Phoebe Jordan who we got along with wonderfully; but the hedge for her was a security blanket that needed to remain. She was unsure of what the future might hold.
Fast forward to 1999. Phoebe moves and sells the home to Doug Thole, who shortly thereafter exchanges vows with a lady Dianne of Lamont. The Tholes proved to be very adept at the practice of oversharing of beverages and personal information - causing them to streak from Neighbor status to Family status with no stops along the way. In practically no time there were bilateral discussions of hedge removal. It was decided to take out the back 25 feet, create a shared garden, but leave the front yards separated by the remaining hedge. The four of us toiled together in planning and developing the garden. Numerous oversharing experiences were performed over the course to completion, and we were the better for it. The resulting garden speaks for itself and it was not long before talk of taking down the last of the hedge began to percolate.
That's when something strange happened - I resisted. They tried to break my will by plying me with beverages. This proved unsuccessful through no fault of my own, as I made no attempt to resist their methods. Why I needed that hedge is beyond me ... privacy, control, insecurity issues ... who knows, and I was not about to spend money to find out. Anyway it all came to a head the night of "The Dream".
Yes, I had a strange dream. I dreamt of myself sleeping in bed - kind of redundant I know, but there it is. I'm watching myself sleep when suddenly the face of Ronald Reagan appears hovering over me in bed. I open my eyes and stare in astonishment - Ron's face is just floating, looking down on me for what seemed like a long time. Finally I get annoyed with the whole thing and blurt out "WHAT!?" Ron appears momentarily startled at my blurtation, but then gets all stern faced and says, "Mr. Payne... TAKE DOWN THAT HEDGE!"
Well that did it. A visit from the "great communicator" cured me, and in the spirit of glasnost, perestroika, and the Father Hoppus Credo, I found the will to take down the last barrier between me and my neighborhood. The blurring of property lines is a good thing, because the emphasis is on the value of relationships, not on the value of property.
Amen
