Act One/Scene Two of A Complex Apology:  Organizing the Neighborhood

SCENE TWO:     Right after moving-in, Joy bought an electric lawn mower and at her first block club party urged the neighbors to borrow it, “Less pollution,” she said.  Within the year, the lawyer on the block who worked for the Environmental Protection League had convinced almost every neighbor that a very nice, albeit not entirely weed-free, lawn could be maintained without using pesticides.  He had made a name for himself by successfully arguing that honeybees have an easement right to fly onto neighboring crop land without being poisoned while performing their necessary cross-pollination duties.  At the time Joy moved-in, he was laying the ground work for another successful law suit holding lawn pesticide companies responsible for the unnatural death of a large number of trees.  He knew a guy who had invented a non-poisonous method for dandelion control.  Everybody on the block got a discount for just trying it.

Their Greenway

While pregnant with their third child, and with two in tow, Joy spent time visiting with the neighbors and convinced us all that our one block stretch of East Como Boulevard could be turned into a pedestrian-only greenway (and later also a community garden) leading to the lake.  Because each side of our one block stretch had an alley behind it, and every neighbor had a garage on the alley, no one had to give up their cars.  The City insisted that emergency vehicles still be able to traverse the vacated street, but soon grass and a walk path replaced the concrete.  The City also agreed to establish permit parking in one section of the parking lot by the lake for occasions when a large number of guests meant not every arrival could fit in the alley.  We all loved it.

Tomorrow:  Act Two