A Brush With The Law

I was inside my house and walked out the front door to pay some day laborers who had done some chores for me. A Sheriff's car was idling in front of my house. I didn't give it a second thought and directed my attention to giving a check to the workers. With my peripheral vision, I detected sudden movement. Looking back at the Sheriff's deputy, I saw him jump out of his car and stand hunched over behind the car door. He was clearly alarmed over something. Over what, I couldn't imagine.

Then, he yelled out, "Do you live here?"

I yelled back, "Yes."

He yelled back, "Did you hire those guys to do some work for you?"

I responded, "Yes, I had them move some firewood for me. "

At this point, I thought I understood what the problem was. The workers, in his eyes, clearly could not live in my neighborhood. This is an affluent area and two El Salvadorians in plaid shirts and an old pick up truck stood out. They could be doing some work for a homeowner or they could be burglars. He wanted to make sure which.

What the officer said next floored me. He yelled, "Bring me some proof that you live here."

Obviously, the officer didn't believe that I looked like I could live in my neighborhood either. Granted, I didn't look my best. I had been working on the pond in the drizzle and my old, ragged, mismatched sweats were covered in mud. I had last combed my hair the day before. But still, under all the dirt and rags, I was still blond and middle aged. I thought that I fit the demographics even though I was dirty.

I thought about the events that led to the beer summit, that is, the black college professor who was doubted my a police officer to be the owner of his home and ended up arrested when the situation escalated. Although my feelings were hurt, I was going to remain polite, calm and reasonably friendly.

I yelled out that I was going to go in the house and come right back. Although it was annoying to have to produce papers when I had done nothing wrong, it was easy enough to show a driver's license. Then I suddenly remembered. My driver's license had my old address on it. Walking in my house, I was wondering how I was going to prove that I lived here. I did a quick search of the tabletops and found some escrow instructions with my name and current address.

I walked over to the deputy, who was no longer crouched behind his car. Back up had arrived while I was inside the house and I guess he was feeling more comfortable. I handed him my papers while the second set of officers watched me. He took the papers and sat in his car and copied the information. When he was done, he handed them back to me and explained that a neighbor had called the police because they saw suspicious men walking around my house.

Forcing a smile, I thanked him, thanked the day laborers and walked back in the house. Everyone drove off. Thank goodness the officer didn't question the workers about their immigration status. I will never be able to run for public office.

Koi Moving Day

I finally got my house rented, but the family I chose has a two year old kid. Not wanting to risk drowning a kid, that created an urgency to finish the pond at my new house, so I could move the koi and drain the old pond.

The last pond, I dug myself. It took two months. Not having two months or the desire to do anything like that ever again, I hired someone to dig it for me. It took two guys one day. It is about 10 by 12 feet and 4 feet deep. There is a shelf all the way around so that if dogs fall in, they can climb out.

I bought 3,300 pounds of ledger stones and went to work. I moved each rock several times until I was satisfied with the placement and then cemented it in. It was a long miserable weekend and then I ran out of rock. I filled up the pond anyway. Enough of the sides are done that the fish have room to swim around. I just need to finish edging the top row or two.

I treated the water and then waited a few days for the water to warm up. Then, the much dreaded fish moving day arrived. I got large plastic containers and lined them with kitchen trash bags. I put them in the car and drove to my old house. With a bucket, I filled the bags with pond water. Next, I climbed into the pond and started fishing.

Koi are hard to catch. They are surprisingly intelligent, fast and slippery. The pond was completely green with zero visibility. The only tool I had was a lace tablecloth. Fortunately, it was a hot day because I spent 2 hours in the pond trying to catch the fish by feel. I caught Sunny first, then Sosamma. It was Judy who challenged me the most. Worried about the the two fish waiting in the hot car, I finally had to leave and take them home. For the most part, they were good in the car, there was a just an occasional splash from Sunny. I didn't have time to acclimate them to the new pond. I just slid them in and they were fine.

It is an hour round trip between the two houses and I knew fishing was going to take some time, so I had to get going before rush hour started. This time, I brought a pump with me and started draining the old pond. With fewer hiding places as the water level dropped, I caught Judy.

Judy is a fighter. She thrashed for most of the ride home. Two minutes from home, she became quiet. When we got home, I was horrified to see that her bag was filled with bloody water. She was completely still. I poked her with my finger and she was unresponsive. Heartbroken that I had killed her, I decided to put her into the pond anyway. She lay on her side for a few seconds and then suddenly woke up. She swam away and joined her friends.

It has been several days and the fish are all fine. Now, I just need to buy more rock and finish what I started.