Capt. Willie
Hall of Fame
Friday afternoon I go to use the telephone and discover it isn't working. I'm not sure how long it is out as no one has called in days. So I call the phone company on the cell phone to have someone come out to repair it. This is the third time in the last 2-3 years it has gone out. Each time it has been caused in some way by the excessive growth of trees surrounding the telephone pole. So the phone company says they will send someone out tomorrow morning (Saturday).
About 9:45 the next morning the man arrives at my house. I explain the situation and that I'm guessing the problem is once again on the pole. He checks the box on the outside of my house and says "yeah, the problem is further back in the line." And that it probably is on the pole. So he gets his ladder but because of trees growing right next to the pole and branches wrapping around it he can't get up there. He says he will most likely have to have the tree removed. As we are standing there talking I see the woman who lives diagonally in back of me standing there staring at us...she says nothing. I tell him this isn't my property, it belongs to the house next to me. The house has been a rental for the last 5-6 years. The current owner lives in Canada and nothing seems to get taken care of properly (this is a whole other long story). The phone man tells me it isn't a problem, they have the legal right to remove any growth that is interfering with utility poles or lines. But as a courtesy he will go over to the neighbor (remember, this is a renter) and let them know what he is doing. So he goes over and tells them. Of course they don't care and even offer to open their fence so he can excess the pole easier. A few minute later he tells me he cant get up there. "I'll have to try from behind it and take out this tree first" he says. So he goes to the woman behind that house, the one who was staring at us. Again, to give her the courtesy of letting her know what is going on. At this point I go back in the house. As I'm watching from the window I can see her standing there very animated waiving her arms. I knew she was giving him a problem. So I go out. She says "if you take this tree down then I will have to look at a telephone pole in my backyard. I don't want to have to look at it." I'm like "ma'am I haven't had phone service for two days. This isn't the first time we have had this problem. Put yourself in my position, how would you feel if this kept knocking out your phone?" She refuses to acknowledge me, just looking at the phone man who is probably stunned by her irrational behavior. "Well I don't want to look at it" she says again. I then say "ma'am is this your property/?" I knew it wasn't but wanted to see what she would say. Finally she says "no, but it is my view." I say, "well then it is really none of your concern and you have no legal right to the tree." She then says to the telephone man "you better get permission from those people before you do anything." I then say "they are renters. The owner lives in Toronto." The phone man then says "I've spoken with the people over there, they understand it needs to be cut down." You could see he is getting very frustrated at this point. He just wants to do his job and was trying to be polite to everyone involved. So then finally she says "well only cut what you need to, nothing extra." He agrees, probably just humoring her to get rid of her.
So the tree was cut down, the branches next to it were trimmed back and he got up to the box where he found a corroded wire. He told me it is probably happening from all the moisture in the trees that were up against the box. So now my phone is back working and I have yet another neighbor who hates me. It amazes me the amount of lunatics I'm surrounded by.
About 9:45 the next morning the man arrives at my house. I explain the situation and that I'm guessing the problem is once again on the pole. He checks the box on the outside of my house and says "yeah, the problem is further back in the line." And that it probably is on the pole. So he gets his ladder but because of trees growing right next to the pole and branches wrapping around it he can't get up there. He says he will most likely have to have the tree removed. As we are standing there talking I see the woman who lives diagonally in back of me standing there staring at us...she says nothing. I tell him this isn't my property, it belongs to the house next to me. The house has been a rental for the last 5-6 years. The current owner lives in Canada and nothing seems to get taken care of properly (this is a whole other long story). The phone man tells me it isn't a problem, they have the legal right to remove any growth that is interfering with utility poles or lines. But as a courtesy he will go over to the neighbor (remember, this is a renter) and let them know what he is doing. So he goes over and tells them. Of course they don't care and even offer to open their fence so he can excess the pole easier. A few minute later he tells me he cant get up there. "I'll have to try from behind it and take out this tree first" he says. So he goes to the woman behind that house, the one who was staring at us. Again, to give her the courtesy of letting her know what is going on. At this point I go back in the house. As I'm watching from the window I can see her standing there very animated waiving her arms. I knew she was giving him a problem. So I go out. She says "if you take this tree down then I will have to look at a telephone pole in my backyard. I don't want to have to look at it." I'm like "ma'am I haven't had phone service for two days. This isn't the first time we have had this problem. Put yourself in my position, how would you feel if this kept knocking out your phone?" She refuses to acknowledge me, just looking at the phone man who is probably stunned by her irrational behavior. "Well I don't want to look at it" she says again. I then say "ma'am is this your property/?" I knew it wasn't but wanted to see what she would say. Finally she says "no, but it is my view." I say, "well then it is really none of your concern and you have no legal right to the tree." She then says to the telephone man "you better get permission from those people before you do anything." I then say "they are renters. The owner lives in Toronto." The phone man then says "I've spoken with the people over there, they understand it needs to be cut down." You could see he is getting very frustrated at this point. He just wants to do his job and was trying to be polite to everyone involved. So then finally she says "well only cut what you need to, nothing extra." He agrees, probably just humoring her to get rid of her.
So the tree was cut down, the branches next to it were trimmed back and he got up to the box where he found a corroded wire. He told me it is probably happening from all the moisture in the trees that were up against the box. So now my phone is back working and I have yet another neighbor who hates me. It amazes me the amount of lunatics I'm surrounded by.
