Posted on RespectTheNeighborhood.com

For two peaceful days on Clark Ln, we actually got to breathe. No panic about stepping into the backyard, no bracing for that next sudden blast of noise. It felt like rare air...the kind of everyday quiet that people of “community stature” probably take for granted. Honestly, I had to re-acclimate to the idea of just walking outside and getting things done.

Blood pressure down. Shoulders unclenched. A couple of days where life sounded normal.

During that brief calm, I came across David C. Bills’ latest heartfelt community update.
Source: https://www.westgenesee.org/article/1972272

I’m truly happy when anyone gets a beautiful family day...congrats to David C. Bills and his daughter. He talks about wallowing in family celebration and attention to detail. That wording jumped off the page, because here’s what our “family day” looked like:

Our Family Day, as Lived on Clark Ln

My dad...sick, visiting from out of town...sat with me on the back porch as we listened to backup beeps, breathed diesel fumes, and watched the skyline of my backyard change forever. No Dust fence No AANYTHING!! That’s the “detail” we got to wallow in.

Meanwhile, I was waiting for calls back from Mike “Scumbag” Walker of NYSED...yes, the same guy who could say, “It was not approved, and they can’t do that,” and then walk away. The anxiety was nonstop; the whole visit took place in a kind of twilight zone where you can’t separate what’s supposed to be family time from what you’re being forced to witness.

My blood pressure was/is sky high, and my entire world in misery, while David C. Bills floated on his mental cloud of awesomeness, I pictured him on a wine and cheese tour somewhere.

So yes, attention to detail was on full display...just not the kind that makes for a warm community postcard, or a sincere blog post.

Two Realities, One “Community”

• Their version: family celebrations, careful choreography, and public congratulations.
• Our version: noise, fumes, dust, and permanent changes to the place we live...told to accept it as if it’s part of some collective good.

Those two quiet days reminded me what normal should feel like. And how profoundly not normal it’s been for months.

If I land on a movie clip that captures that first step into the backyard...where you’re half expecting the next blast...I’ll add it here. Until then, consider this the record of our “family day,” written from the wrong side of a “community” update.

I don't have a privacy fence like the image below, after paying David C. Bills his tribute I will now be stuck with another David C Bills Bill to put up a privacy fence. However I am not sure I am going to do that...its a lot of money and if I don't It gives me so much to work with.

David C. Bills Love