I live in an older neighborhood that is decidedly a blue-collar working class. The little brick ranches are surrounded by large lots, and mature trees. The yards are well-maintained, however since there is no HOA and other authority that tells you what color to paint your shutters or if you can have a basketball hoop on your garage. As a result, we have several neighbors who have the liberty express themselves.
If you drive down my street, one of the first things you will notice a rather large handcrafted flamingo mailbox. On the porch is a string of Christmas lights, bright pink of course, and a storm door to match. The president of our civic league lives there and no surprise, he is a Miami Dolphin fan. His wife loves all things tropical. They are friendly, generous, good neighbors, who love our girls and bought numerous boxes of Girl Scout cookies from Ladybug last spring. We call them Mr. and Mrs. Flamingo.
Across the street from us, lives Mr. Jerry. He is a retired Marine, who owns a HVAC company. At 65, he is a small, quick, energetic man. He keeps his lawn well-maintained and his little house is in tip-top shape. However, right now he is fighting a battle, a battle over his pears.
In his front yard are two large Bartlett pear trees that are loaded with fruit. Our neighborhood gray squirrels love the pears, and have causing a mess in Jerry’s front yard. In retaliation, Jerry has been shooting the squirrels with a bebe gun to scare them off.
The other day I was taking out the trash when I heard a loud bang. It sounds like a canon going off. The girls ran out of the house scared. A transformer had blown and the power was out. About an hour later, the power company was on the scene. The girls were interested in the big trucks and lifts, so we went outside to watch.
Down the street comes Mrs. Flamingo with her Shih Tzu following along. My girls adore the little dog, and it is one of the breed, Ladybug can actually pet and not break out in hives. Mrs. Flamingo was curious if Jerry had accidently shot the transformer, but alas he was visiting his grandkids that week.
Just then, the power man came over to talk to us. He was a cheerful man, deeply tanned from working outside with a large golden cross around his neck. I liked him instantly. “Bad news”, he said, “the transformer will need to be replaced. It will be another 4-5 hours before that team can get out here.”
“What happened?” I asked. “A squirrel got into the transformer.” He answered. “How do you know?” asked Mrs. Flamingo. “We found him on the ground.” He replied, and added, “At least, he died happy. He had a big, juicy pear in his mouth.”
Hilarious!
Posted by: Stephanie | 08/04/2011 at 10:15 AM
Ha! Great story!! Thanks for sharing that, Mary. :D
Posted by: Julie Robison | 08/04/2011 at 10:42 AM
Poor Squirrel. LOL This bring images of the Ice Age Squirrel scrambling after that nut!
Posted by: kyooty | 08/04/2011 at 01:18 PM
That is funny but also sad, oh I love fresh pairs you know you pick them green and then let them ripen. SO good and easy to can.
Posted by: Sharon O | 08/04/2011 at 02:56 PM
Any suggestions for getting voles to make a serious mistake like that squirrel did?
Posted by: wendy | 08/04/2011 at 05:17 PM
Voles? No, thankfully we don't have those...yet!
Posted by: Mary @ A Simple Twist of Faith | 08/04/2011 at 05:33 PM
Sharon,
Canning, I am all ears! My Ladybug ate TWO whole pears for lunch, she absolutely loves them.
Posted by: Mary @ A Simple Twist of Faith | 08/04/2011 at 05:35 PM
Miss Mary,
Your Marine Neighbor sounds cool.
Flamingo lady sounds really fun!
You could have a great block party.
Tricia
Posted by: Tricia | 08/04/2011 at 10:48 PM
What a story! It gave me a roaring belly laugh which alerted Pops so I had to read it to him. Thanks for making our day!
Gram
Posted by: Geri | 08/08/2011 at 09:17 AM