We all know that life brings it’s laws, rules and regulations - after all, that’s what keeps society organized and stable instead of it becoming chaotic and dangerous. But to have any credibility, surely those laws, rules, etc. must be grounded in common sense, otherwise they fall into disrepute and as many people as possible will just ignore them when they can.
Sometimes it seems as if bureaucracy, mind-numbing officiousness and just plain old stupidity reach their peak in the regular stories of overbearing Homeowner Association zealots who apply regulations to lengths that any reasonable person would not believe. What on earth am I on about? Well, here’s one example:
A cash-strapped former Long Island resident was jailed for not taking care of the dying grass in the front yard of his Florida home. The Tampa-area resident is fighting foreclosure and ignored association warnings and a judge’s orders.
Read the rest of the story here. The man is 66 years old and is in jail for the “crime” of not keeping his lawn in good shape. Now, I’m sure there are faults on both sides. Further on in the story we read:
Last month, the judge found Prudente in contempt of court and gave him another 30 days to re-sod or face jail time. He ignored the judge.
So ultimately it’s his refusal to obey the court that was the immediate cause of his sentence. But have we really reached a situation where some dead green vegetation starts a process that puts a retiree behind bars? Is there no one in the Homeowner Association Board who thinks that this has reached ridiculous lengths? Have we all gone crazy?
Unfortunately, that’s just one example of amazingly poor judgment : try this and this and this and this.
There must be a better way! What do you think?
