WHAT'S GOIN' ON

     So let's take stock of what is going on around here and where we stand at present. First, I must comment on a moronic posting left by Lanny Howe in response to a posting by Bob Rivera about dumpster diving. There is a definite issue here. I guess it is okay to take the metal stuff that is left on the outside of the dumpsters, but when fishing around inside goes on, then we have problems - the noise, the mess that is then left and the timing in general needs to be civilized. But then again, we also have a related issue of contractors leaving their mess in dumpsters all over the Village, sharing it oh so generously when they are really responsible for taking it away, out of the Village.
     Of course, the question then arises - how are these people getting into the Village. Perhaps with our vaunted cameras, maybe Ed Black can actually do something worthwhile and sit there and run an investigation into some odd panel and flat bed trucks that come in on a regular basis, especially late at night and are VISITORS not residents. Residents need to be cautioned about it as well and to be considerate of others as they try to go about making a living, for that is what these dumpster divers are doing. What is sadder and I wish we could help here, perhaps by discreet food pantry or requests by association presidents who know of those in need in their buildings - is the sight of mainly elderly people searching in the true garbage dumpsters, not for metal, but for remnants of food. I have seen it and it is sad, very sad.
     Back to Lanny and I hope that his response is supposed to be facetious though it is really not. He says to encourage raccoons! Yes, better to encourage animals that bite humans, that scare people, that carry rabies, that leave messes - oh, so much better than to have divers. Lanny, this is not even funny and no humor comes across here.
     This is one of the areas in which the UCO administration should be spending more time thinking about, trying to solve it. Think out of the box. Enlist the help of the residents, set up a food pantry, put a lock maybe on the dumpsters after a certain hour, but again, no one will address this issue because it is not deemed important enough. In fact, very few issues that affect the daily quality of life here for the residents is ever taken seriously and gone at with vigor. An example - we have a bus stop by us that has a very dangerous gap between the road and the bench. Most of our bus riders do not even try to sit down as one has to step into a narrow space down from the road, twist a foot sidewise and then try to sit without injury. We have spoken to numerous people and yet - there it sits and what is more, I reported  this over two years ago when I had my first knee surgery and nearly undid it when I tried to sit on the bench after taking a walk. And yet, here it still remains. What is so difficult about pouring some street goop over there to fill in the gap? What is the holdup? Why are people who are trying to remedy the situation being stymied? Is it because it is near my association? Could they be that petty? The answer is up to you.
     Yesterday, as we walked around the perimeter we saw the mess on the swales - the uncut grass, the weeds, and what is even uglier, piles and piles of dead fronds and branches left uncollected and my poor little pathetic tree outside the Dover walls is still struggling to survive. To anyone coming to visit, to look to buy or rent, the curb appeal was definitely NOT there.
     At the Clubhouse yesterday, close to boarding time, there were some riders standing, waiting to board and quite a number were standing leaning heavily on their walkers and canes. Why can we not remove some of the bushes and hedges and put in some narrow benches which would provide for them an area to sit and wait. The bench by the smoking area is not a good idea, especially if someone is smoking and that is another topic - why put a smoking area in a spot where people wait - so we can give them secondary smoke issues? The two benches by the doors to the Clubhouse are too far away for most of the buses. Again, why cannot our illustrious President move his ass and get out of his office and away from his computer and go around the Village, actually talk with the residents - such a novel idea - and hear what they have to say. Treat it seriously and not as a campaign trip and maybe we can actually do something finally! See, little Gracie, I do not really care about who does what here as long as it gets done TO AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE RESIDENTS. The only one who is still running for election and maintenance of power is David Israel and crew. The rest of us just want a better Village.