Class Warfare (or, Classical Choir and the Locals)

[KiaKat]

I'm a first soprano in a choir that performs classical and modern classical pieces. We're steadily getting larger (it's an "anyone can join" type), and had to move from one venue to another, in order to have enough space. The new venue is in the middle of town, and in a church that has no parking lot. However, there's a side street! Being the nice people we are, not wanting to block main street traffic or use up all their parking spaces, we tend to park on the side street, tucking our cars to the sides between driveways so we can leave space for other vehicles to get through.

Our performance was yesterday afternoon (see Check It Out for the video), so we've been practicing our butts off for days. Thursday and Friday were two four-hour rehearsals in the church, with the entire choir (actually three community choirs and a semi-professional church choir, plus professionals who were brought in to bolster our performance). Lots of cars, and no instructions on where to park.

Friday morning, about twenty minutes into rehearsal, this woman comes storming in with her tween daughter trailing behind her (to be used as a prop - the poor girl had a cast on her wrist), screaming "NO NO NO NO STOP NO STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!"

We all trail off, mid-measure. The conductor (a true professional, he was the pit conductor for Lurhman's La Boeme for months) modulates his voice and starts to ask what we can do for her. She yells at him to shut up, and starts in on her rant.

YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO CONSIDERATION FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE YOU TAKE UP OUR STREETS AND BLOCK OUR DRIVEWAYS SO WE CAN'T GET OUT OF OUR HOMES AND YOU PARK ON OUR GRASS AND OUR FLOWERS AND IF MY KIDS NEED AN AMBULANCE ONE CAN'T GET THROUGH BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SPACE WHAT IF MY KIDS NEED TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL I CAN'T CALL 911 BECAUSE YOU'VE BLOCKED THE ROAD MOVE YOUR F***ING CARS NOW IF THERE ARE ANY STILL IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE IN AN HOUR I'M CALLING A TOW TRUCK AND IF I FIND ANY MORE CARS IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE AIR IN YOUR TIRES.

She ranted on like this for a good, oh, five minutes. I thought she was going to grab her daughter's wrist and hold it up as an example of her KIDS NEED AMBULANCE statement (that one was repeated about four times). When we asked what house was hers (remember, most of us aren't local and don't know that she's the town nutcase), she said FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELVES. Most of us were just baffled by the sudden influx of crazy into what had been a focused rehearsal. Others were used to it, and our already-limited time was limited more because a bunch of people had to go move their cars.

One of the other sopranos told me that last year, when they were rehearsing Handel's Messiah, one evening after practice they filtered out of the church, and she was sitting on her porch with a radio. She cranked up the radio and yelled that she'd rather listen to HER music rather than OURS.

Luckily, we settled quickly, and we sounded AWESOME. I'll throw one video in Check It Out, and that same youtube account will be uploading a bunch more, later today.

[PepperElf]

She cranked up the radio and yelled that she'd rather listen to HER music rather than OURS.

Which perhaps brings fourth the REAL reason she's pissy. It sounds like didn't want to hear it but since you broke no laws she's just going to be a bitch about it and try to find other ways to silence your choir. Plus it sounds like it's been festering in her... so even the smallest offense becomes the molehill-turned-mountain of drama.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Might I suggest (if at all possible) the choir group tries to arrange as many car-pools as possible? This way it cuts down on the space you're taking up (and gas emissions!)

Not saying you aren't already, it's just what my group did when I was in a bell choir.

She's still crazy and really rude for completely freaking out like that (because I bet she just used all those cars there as an excuse to bitch at you and interrupt your rehearsal- the radio cranking kind of nails that coffin nicely shut.)

[Merriweather]

IF some choir members actually are blocking driveways when they park, or parking on people's lawns or flower beds, then she has a legitimate complaint - against those people. But unless it's a neighborhood that requires permits for street parking, or there are no parking signs, then all others are perfectly legal & none of her business. House owners don't own the street, not even the spots directly in front of their own house. It might be annoying to have a lot of cars parked in your neighborhood, but I'd bet the church was there when she bought the house, and if there's a church, and no decent size parking lot, it doesn't take an advanced degree in physics to realize that when something is happening at the church, they'll be extra cars parked in nearby streets. Not to mention the possibility of noise during some events, as well.

Sounds to me like she just wants to cause trouble, and that's that, she doesn't care who has what rights or what's legal or fair, she just thinks because she lives in a house, she should be able to control the whole neighborhood.

If she truly wanted to resolve any real problems, she could write a nice letter, delivered to whoever is in charge at the church, asking them to please remind members of any groups meeting there to be careful not to block driveways or park off the road. And if that doesn't work, she can find out who to call to complain (& possibly have towed) any car parked illegally on her own property, and only her own property.

As for ambulances, if the street itself is clear, and no one is parked in spots with signs posted for no parking, then there shouldn't be a problem with one getting thru. Lots of cars legally parked along a street shouldn't interfere with emergency vehicles.

[bainsidhe]

And now that she announced she'll be vandalizing cars, just who do you think people will file criminal complaints against if tires suddenly go flat?

[KiaKat]

None of us blocked driveways, and for the most part, we were careful to leave more than enough space. We had one issue with a mailbox being semi-blocked, but we can't tell if it was actually blocked, or just the postman having a snit.

We're meeting next Tuesday, and have been asked to park elsewhere, just to avoid trouble. I guess, given the size of the town (fewer than 2,000 people) and the fact that we're seen as "that invading group of annoying City people (even though most of us aren't FROM the city...), it's easier than trying to fight it.

Pepper, you nailed it. She doesn't actually care about the street (beyond her own property), she just hates what we're doing. She used the word "elitist" more than once.

I still feel really badly for her daughter. Poor kid had to stand on display while her mom screamed.

[MoonCat]

Sounds to me like she just wants to cause trouble, and that's that, she doesn't care who has what rights or what's legal or fair, she just thinks because she lives in a house, she should be able to control the whole neighborhood.

This sounds like my neighbor, the reigning Queen of the Old Bats. She doesn't want the people from the church on the corner to park in front of her house (for all of an hour) on Sunday, so she puts an orange traffic cone in the space. She claims it's because of the fire hydrant, but the hydrant is so close to the edge of her driveway that parking in front of her house doesn't block access to the hydrant AT ALL.

[kpzra]

From experience, if the space is too tight for an ambulance to easily fit, we park as close as we can and walk. It's not like we are there that long and we WILL block traffic if need be for a scoop and go.

[KiaKat]

The really funny thing?

She's the corner house. Right up against the main street. Her house isn't blocked off in any way.

[Argabarga]

Just another person who is determined to get even with the world for every slight, real and perceived, that ever happened to her....

And these people wonder why they're surrounded by antagonists who never see it their way?