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This is a little "case" that got some serious write up in my local newspaper. It's a wonderful example of a person putting their foot in their mouth claiming they know more than they do. It all centers around one solitary little rose bush. Well, not one, but more of a bed; and, a light pole.
The bed was a nice one. Good and large with a series of rose bushes in it. Bushes which stood almost five feet in their highest point. Now these bushes hadn't really been there long. No, the owner had spent a great deal of time with them. Climbing roses grow fast. VERY fast if you put the right nutrients down. Now, the bush wasn't the only thing in that bed. There was a smallish apple tree, and a large ammount of pansies. Pansies of all colors and sizes. This bed, well it looked beautiful along the owner's yard. Dead center in all this, was a light pole. that pole had been there years, and for years it had caused the owner trouble when mowing around it. That's the reason for the bed. His wife spent all her time out there.
One day, the owner's wife came home to find to her horror that the rose bush was gone. In fact, not only was it gone, but every bit of her little bed was missing. The stone dividers were cast about, the bush cut up and neatly lain beside the road for pickup. Gone too was her apple tree, and the pansies were smashed. Right in the center of them, the tracks of what looked to be a tractor, or even a truck. The light pole was gone as well, replaced by a new funky green one. No letter of explanation, no applogy, nothing. Just a missing bed, the mess, and a light pole.
She ranted, and raved, calling the power company and complaining. There was nothing they could do about it, it wasn't their fault. Again and again she tried, but to no satisfaction. In the mean time, the owner and wife planted some new rose bushes, hoping to rebuild. Lawsuits were threatened, and another apple tree was planted.
It did not last.
Not a week after the first incident, the owner comes home this time to find a county bush hog (mower) neatly cutting down all her plants and apple tree. This time, there was also a letter on the door. She was being...fined?
She tried to stop the mower, but the man ignored her. He, had a job to do and she was not part of it. Once finished he turned and left. Here's where the papers caught it.
She wrote, time and time again, to the papers. It was my plants, she said, my land. Mine mine mine. They had no right! It's illegal. It's this, it's that. Time and time again she called the power company, and time and time again she was told that no, it wasn't her land, that on her power bill was an explanation. Further if she kept calling, the company would file charges for harrassment.
In the end, it took a single letter from a local writer to stop the tide. He, it turned out was an ex lineman. His letter was not long, and yet polite. Caring while also chiding her. What did it say? Just this:
Read the back of your power bill.
The story ends there, with one assuming she read the bill. Many wonder though, what did it say? What was so important back there that she had missed all those years? Well, what it says is this:
<Power Company> by right of law, reserves the right to remove any and all obstructions from the right of way (to not excede 9 linear feet, 18 total) around power poles and lines. This will be done without permission of the owner and can result in charges and fines for obstructing <power company> employees from the due course of their job.
The bed was a nice one. Good and large with a series of rose bushes in it. Bushes which stood almost five feet in their highest point. Now these bushes hadn't really been there long. No, the owner had spent a great deal of time with them. Climbing roses grow fast. VERY fast if you put the right nutrients down. Now, the bush wasn't the only thing in that bed. There was a smallish apple tree, and a large ammount of pansies. Pansies of all colors and sizes. This bed, well it looked beautiful along the owner's yard. Dead center in all this, was a light pole. that pole had been there years, and for years it had caused the owner trouble when mowing around it. That's the reason for the bed. His wife spent all her time out there.
One day, the owner's wife came home to find to her horror that the rose bush was gone. In fact, not only was it gone, but every bit of her little bed was missing. The stone dividers were cast about, the bush cut up and neatly lain beside the road for pickup. Gone too was her apple tree, and the pansies were smashed. Right in the center of them, the tracks of what looked to be a tractor, or even a truck. The light pole was gone as well, replaced by a new funky green one. No letter of explanation, no applogy, nothing. Just a missing bed, the mess, and a light pole.
She ranted, and raved, calling the power company and complaining. There was nothing they could do about it, it wasn't their fault. Again and again she tried, but to no satisfaction. In the mean time, the owner and wife planted some new rose bushes, hoping to rebuild. Lawsuits were threatened, and another apple tree was planted.
It did not last.
Not a week after the first incident, the owner comes home this time to find a county bush hog (mower) neatly cutting down all her plants and apple tree. This time, there was also a letter on the door. She was being...fined?
She tried to stop the mower, but the man ignored her. He, had a job to do and she was not part of it. Once finished he turned and left. Here's where the papers caught it.
She wrote, time and time again, to the papers. It was my plants, she said, my land. Mine mine mine. They had no right! It's illegal. It's this, it's that. Time and time again she called the power company, and time and time again she was told that no, it wasn't her land, that on her power bill was an explanation. Further if she kept calling, the company would file charges for harrassment.
In the end, it took a single letter from a local writer to stop the tide. He, it turned out was an ex lineman. His letter was not long, and yet polite. Caring while also chiding her. What did it say? Just this:
Read the back of your power bill.
The story ends there, with one assuming she read the bill. Many wonder though, what did it say? What was so important back there that she had missed all those years? Well, what it says is this:
<Power Company> by right of law, reserves the right to remove any and all obstructions from the right of way (to not excede 9 linear feet, 18 total) around power poles and lines. This will be done without permission of the owner and can result in charges and fines for obstructing <power company> employees from the due course of their job.
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