A Decade of Deciduous Growth

I relocated 10 years ago to my present abode, bringing my worldly possessions with me. For the most part, life has been good for me, especially retiring in the middle of a recession, but still working part-time. Economics are not that difficult if consumers keep one principle firmly in mind: do not spend what you do not have. I live well within my means, resisting the urge to move up a few years ago into a more prestigous neighborhood, while also realizing that owning 2 automobiles was not, perhaps, as cost effective as I could be during hard financial times. Hence, I prestiged the home I own and traded in 2 vehicles for the new RAV.

The best laid plans sometimes get messed with by means beyond our control, but if we have a cushion stashed away, we can often weather those storms. My storms since the beinning of the New Year have been many: new washing machine, new microwave (the 2nd in 3 years), 2 new windshields for the cars I later sold, as well as 2 full sets of new tires, and yesterday, a new phone with answering machine. My intent was to stay with what I have, but when I went to the battery section of a local store, I found that I can purchase a brand-new phone, with digital recording and many, many other needless feature, that includes a new battery for $20. The new battery for my old phone would have cost the same amount, so now I have a new phone.

The old saw used to be that we "nickel and dime" ourselves to death, but my recent experience is costing me in the hundreds of dollars each time something else needs to be replaced! I will admit that I bought the new flat screen TV just because I wanted it, but ... my old technology was old and probably going to go out suddenly with all the power surges we've been enjoying.

In the neighborhoods, fires are starting in the power poles, such as the one at the back of my property obscured by an out-of-control tree. No one lives in the adjoining property, so the tree must be in a septic tank to be flourishing without water. It's time for the leaves to turn, fall off, and gather at the base of the tree ... and no one is there to clean up after the tree sheds its foliage. The pole has a transformer and many little appendages that I cannot identify, so I'm sure it gets pretty darned hot when we all have our electronics plugged in and making our lives more comfortable. We talk about infrastructure, but we somehow forget about the power poles shrouded in leaves at the backs of our properties.

This was a new, sparse neighborhood a decade ago, houses widely-spread and vegetation newly-planted. Then came the growth spurt during which new houses popped up like microwave popcorn. Each of the homes contains not just a family, but an electronic family that uses electrical current far beyond what was imagined when the communities were settled. I don't know if there has ever been an upgrade to the power lines and equipment at the back of my property, but I have never seen a crew in the area doing any work on "my" pole. If there were to be a pole fire, the neighbors have effectively blocked access to it by extending their brick walls and wooden fences to include the easement -- so I guess it would burn and take with it what it's going to use for fuel, including all those shabby wooden fences we old-timers call kindling. The fire departments remind us several times a year to keep the vegetation away from our property during fire season, but I've never been told to clear the power pole.

I'm not going to unplug my life, but I am going to keep an eye on the power pole, I'll never be a pole dancer, but I sure as heck can become a darned good pole watcher!