May 22nd 2012 08:07 am The big house
Since there’s something of a storyline going on in the current strip right now, I thought I’d dig out this old series, from April of 1986, less than a year after the debut of Arlo & Janis. The treehouse series is the first continuing story I drew. It wasn’t in the book, and I don’t think it has been reproduced anywhere until now. I hope you enjoy it.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
54 Responses to “The big house”
phil in Missoula, MT on 22 May 2012 at 8:25 am #
The HOA in my neighborhood in Sugar Land was very strict with prohibitions against lawn art…requirements for four trees in the front yard…a selection of paints and shingles you could use…curtains in the front window needing white backing on them…yada, yada, yada. There was a committee to approve modifications to your property and a neighborhood nazi to do regular inspections. I’ll look hard at the HOA anywhere I ever buy again.
Russel Trojan on 22 May 2012 at 8:48 am #
As a rule, I do not like HOAs. I am generally conservative in nature and somewhat spartan in decoration, but still it seems wrong to “own” something and then have someone else tell you what you can do with it.
John in Richmond Texas on 22 May 2012 at 8:56 am #
A lot of HOA’s pick on the tiny little insignificant things where they may know the people will acquiesce, but then be too afraid to confront truly obnoxious egregious violations, where there may be a battle. This way the HOA can reman all powerful and smug with a good “success rate”. Years ago in my naivete, because no one else would do it, I wound up as President, Vice President and Secretary all at the same time of my neighborhood in west Harris County (Houston address, but not in the city limits) but there were enough people on the little committees who wanted things and/or wanted the neighborhood to be a certain way. Man, I will never do that again anywhere – I was actually woken up Saturday morning by a guy who purposely leaves his truck out with the windows open overnight (!!) and demanded I evict someone from the neighborhood whose cat slept in the truck, also got a call from a guy who said he was going to “drop” a dog that was bothering him on his morning jogs, I said, fine – go ahead and drop it.
sandcastler on 22 May 2012 at 8:57 am #
Having lived in both HOA and non-HOA communities, I have to say we perfer a HOA environment. Had too many neighbors who either trashed their property or turned it in to a RV/boat storage center.
David in Austin on 22 May 2012 at 8:58 am #
Homeowners Associations and deed restrictions are very big in central Texas. I currently live on a 4 acre lot, with other large lots all around. Deed restrictions for the property say that I can have 1 horse or 1 cow per acre, but no pigs and no poultry. I would love to raise a few laying hens, but I’m forbidden because the original developer didn’t like birds. I can’t believe a few chickens would be louder or smellier than 4 cows. Of course, those same restrictions say I can only have two dogs. A restriction I gladly violated with two lab-mix pound puppies and a rescued Shi-tzu. I only made it back into compliance after 5 years, when my 18+ year old Shi-Tzu died.
Matthew on 22 May 2012 at 9:00 am #
I have never dealt with a homeowners’ association, and I can see how annoying they can be, but they are also reminding us that no one is an island, and that Americans have delusions about the sanctity of private property when everyone who could read what I am writing depends on a myriad of other people–friends, family, fellow citizens, and fellow passengers on Spaceship Earth.
But that’s not the reason I’m writing. I just got distracted by those two comments when I opened this link, which I did to tell you that I am eager to read a never-reproduced set of strips AND, mostly, I wanted to say that Arlo’s remark in today’s strip (May 22nd 2012) is one of the best punchlines you, Mr. Johnson, have ever written. Very good work.
Carole in Wesley Chapel on 22 May 2012 at 9:15 am #
We moved into our new house ten years ago with eyes wide open about the deed restrictions and did not think it would be an issue but it has become aggravating. We would move in a minute if we did not have the great backyard conservation area. I am attached to my hawks and owls and dozens of smaller birds and deer and other critters, even the occasional cottonmouth that wanders onto the porch. I have a camera on a tripod looking out and always ready. Hard to replace.
Going back to yesterday, books are some of the “stuff” we have too much of. I am trying to figure out which room would handle a floor-to-ceiling entire wall book shelf configuration the best without making the room look cluttered, one of my fantasies. My son and daughter-in-law moved out last weekend after living with us for two years and asked if I wanted them to remove the shelves they had put on the wall in their bedroom. I told them it was not necessary, that if I did not have a use for them we would remove them. They were full of overflow books before the door closed behind them.
John in Richmond Texas on 22 May 2012 at 9:17 am #
and you can have lots of huge barking dogs outside, with the “by-products” and smell close to a neighbor, but you can’t keep too many rabbits or guinea pigs or a quiet little pot belly pig inside
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 9:18 am #
When we moved into our present home there was no HOA [I love the sound of that; so fitting] but a group or residents, not including us, founded one and proclaimed that we were included in there covenant or coven or whatever it was. There first move was to tell us that we couldn’t decorate with a lot of rocks we collected to build a country garden in the old English style. They explained that our “look” was too “old,” not to mention “sedentary, country and reclusive,” not at all in keeping with the “fashionable” and “contemporary” looks the “neighborhood” wanted and required. John wouldn’t let me talk. But his response had to do with rolling up the HOA decree, something about using butter as a lubricant, and then bodily orifices. He was much more diplomatic than I would have been, I admit. The thing is, those same dictatorial intruders did absolutely nothing about turning their own property into anything but a boat and RV parking lot and their lawns get cut maybe once a month. The older residents adopted us after that and we’ve spent a lot of time helping them do the same thing we’ve been working on for years…but WITHOUT THE BLEEPING BAMBOO!
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 9:19 am #
What I started to say, before my rant, was, “Jimmy, I’m really eager to see how this story line plays out!”
billinbossier on 22 May 2012 at 9:29 am #
Don’t get me started on our HOA. A couple of years ago they required everyone to join the tennis and swim club that is on the property, but seperate from the golf course. It didn’t matter that we already had our own pool, and we don’t play tennis. Everyone had to join. Then they started on how often we cut our lawns, and then last week they sent a bunch of workers out (I doubt they all had green cards) and trimmed (butchered) the tree in front of my house that they said was in the ‘common area’. Their reason…so that the walkers and joggers would not have to bend over or walk/jog around the tree. I pointed out that the walker would have to be 8ft. tall to have to bend over, but it made no difference, they had already cut off the branches…some of which did not cover the sidewalk anyway.
But enough about me….how is your day?
Whistling Rufus on 22 May 2012 at 9:36 am #
Hehe, these kind of comments illustrate why I own 30 acres and my house is right in the middle of it. O.K., so I have to pack a lunch to go to the mailbox, at least I don’t have no steenking neighbors close by.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 22 May 2012 at 10:12 am #
We found out the hard way that in our county (New Castle County, Delaware) deed restrictions and home owner associations are all bite and no bark. Yes, they are written into deeds, but unless someone brings a lawsuit, the county has little interest in enforcing them.
My b-i-l has a condo in Ft. Lauderdale with a long list of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. For instance, one owner installed new hurricane windows, which were quite attractive and better than what the original windows. But because they didn’t match the existing windows, the association sued him to have them removed, even if he had to install a shoddy, approved window. From what I understand, a lot of these homeowner/condo associations are filled with retirees with nothing to do but watch over their neighbors.
That being said, I think a reasonable restriction on one’s property is appropriate when one lives in a community. Our choices and actions do affect other people. It would be nice if every one maintained their properties and took the thoughts of their neighbors into consideration before proceeding with changes. HOA’s and deed restrictions ideally should outline expectations and everyone will agree to abide by them. Unfortunately, there always seems to be someone who things their property rights trump anyone else’s right.
Dave in MA on 22 May 2012 at 10:21 am #
My grass is currently about 2 feet high. I have a small lot of land, not even an acre. I have lots of dandelions. I also have a bad back and a lawn mower that only functions for about 2 minutes at a time before it requires 10 minutes of cool down time. It hasn’t been high on my priority list to cut the grass in the middle of my worst allergy attack in 25 years in light of how much difficulty it would present (especially since it’s rained every evening after work for the past few days – which is why the grass shot up from nothing to over 2 feet tall).
If my neighbors complain about it they’ll get told in no uncertain terms that waking me up through closed windows at 2:00 AM with the volume of the music they are playing at their all night party on a weeknight is the reason I haven’t cut the grass – I want them to get upset and move away.
Ruth on 22 May 2012 at 10:24 am #
The very first time I heard about a HOA was when my friends took down their clothes line to add a deck to their house and were told they couldn’t put it back up. As long as the original one was there they were “grandfathered” but the minute it came down that was it. My first reaction was “what the firetruck” and I decided then and there that I would never buy a house with a HOA.
On a different note, I’m glad to see JJ is sending Gene back to school and to finish those last few credits.
Dave in MA on 22 May 2012 at 10:26 am #
And one of the new things happening in my area is a new kind of deed restriction (well, of sorts anyway)….. the original developer who built the house can now stipulate a fee (in the thousands of dollars) be paid to him whenever you sell your house which he no longer has any legal claim to. And not only that, but that whoever YOU sell your house to must also pay him a fee of the same amount when they decide to sell the house decades from now. And their survivors will have to pay his survivors, etc, until the end of time.
The courts have reviewed it and are out to lunch on whether or not to put an end to this practice.
Dave in MA on 22 May 2012 at 10:28 am #
P.S. I wonder if the suggestion made to lower the font size to get more words on the page would work with me and e-readers. I’d be interested in trying it, but in light of the problem of reading full length books on the web that I also experience, I tend to think that’s not my problem. But it’s an interesting point and I wonder how I’d feel about them if I tried that.
Of course, my eyesight would have to allow for it.
Nancy in Bucks County on 22 May 2012 at 10:43 am #
Lived in a neighborhood with HOA in VA. They made a family add more square feet onto their home because it was not big enough. Family complied, then made it a rental property (HOA forgot to address rentals). Renters put claw foot tub in front yard with plastic flowers. I thought a flamingo would add to the ambiance of the home and added that (during the night).
Bryan on 22 May 2012 at 10:47 am #
I won’t go into HOAs (despicable entities) but I will say I’m looking forward to a new story.
Bill in Paducah on 22 May 2012 at 10:55 am #
I too loved Arlo’s observation in today’s strip (May 22.) It reminded me of another favorite on April 2, 1993. You can see it on this page:
http://arloandjanis.com/a-silver-celebration-of-arlo-and-janis-day-3
John in Virginia on 22 May 2012 at 11:02 am #
WOW! Did you ever hit a note with this story line, JJ! I can see where a HOA might be of value but I’ve yet to see one that didn’t, sooner or later and most often sooner, turn into a little fiefdom, or perhaps a dictatorship, for egocentric control freaks with nothing else to do but try to run the lives of everyone else. [See the animated movie that shall not be named since it may be a cartoon series competing with Jimmy that stars a turtle and a raccoon and watch the human dictator {the female of the species} prove my animated point.] I believe in grass control but understand a case like Dave in MA’s situation where physical ailments preclude once a week mowing. We could go on and on about our local demonic entity that attempted to create itself and evolve into a New World Order right here in mountainous Virginia, but it sorta faded, died, decayed and disappeared after the would-be Fuehrers suddenly moved out, having been busted for running a meth lab. Now that was poetic justice except that I didn’t have the chance to do bodily harm to the male creature while Mindy worked out on the female with the highly fitting Stalin-like mustache. Jimmy even got me wound up here!
James Pollock on 22 May 2012 at 11:10 am #
I had this exact experience (Gene’s, I mean) back in the 70′s. Fortunately for me, a treehouse in the BACK yard was just fine. I had it watertight, carpeted, and was thinking about adding electric lighting when we moved. Today, the tree that totally dominated the back yard of that house is gone.
Russell Way Out There on 22 May 2012 at 11:17 am #
The Horrors of HOA’s just keep on rolling. I suppose they’re like anything else, good ideas that somehow end up as a John Carpenter movie — or something by Tim Burton — but not always. The Horror Picture Show here came about when an HOA just sprang up like a mushroom, not unlike John’s, and then tried to consolidate with the local historical society. These creatures from the bog not only presumed to enroll unwilling HOA members but also to decree that by “joining” {I thought the draft was discontinued in 1070!} all “members” in older houses, built more than 100 years ago, were somehow obligated to allow Society members to come in and “tour” at will. They showed up here and I may or may not have gone further than John did or Mindy would have, but “at will” quickly became “at won’t.” The threat of a class action suit disbanded that HOA but I admit the Meth Lab bust termination is far more appealing.
Keep it up, Jimmy! You always seem to peek into our lives in the best of ways and create conversations that always entertain and often awe and amaze. Has anyone ever seen a comic strip that was such a social stimulant as Arlo and Janis? I can think of three that equal but do not surpass A&J!
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 May 2012 at 12:15 pm #
Geez! Remind me to never get John and/or Mindy exercised about anything. Especially Mindy. Especially on a bad bamboo day.
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 1:00 pm #
Ghost, we’re both very easy to get along with but we balk and buck like wild horses when people “demand” things of us that they have no right to demand. In John’s case, it’s his training in military and police combined with his natural bullheadedness. In my case, I’m a Deep South and Southern Mountains witch. With a “W” and whatever other consonant you care to add.
We feel like we have to earn the respect and trust of others as well as their friendship. But that is a reciprocal condition, also. If you need the shirt off my back [I doubt that it's large enough to fit you], I’ll give it to you. BUT! Before you demme that old carpe, I’ll remove it in private and then bring it to you. You aren’t going to catch me out on that one. 
And you’re right, Russell!
Dave in MA on 22 May 2012 at 1:08 pm #
“We could go on and on about our local demonic entity that attempted to create itself and evolve into a New World Order right here in mountainous Virginia” – I had one of those two. I cut it down with a pruning saw and painted over the stump. Oh wait, you meant an HOA…..
Soleil on 22 May 2012 at 1:22 pm #
when we bought our house (not in a planned community) the agent presented us with a form. We read it and commented that “uh – does this really mean that we agree to abide by a HOA if and as one is ever created, without any input, even though no HOA exists now?”
The painfully cheery agent smiled, nodded, and said “Oh, yes, everyone signs those” — hubby tossed it across the desk at her and said that the most diplomatic response to that document that he could possibly comprehend was “like hell”.
We didn’t sign it.
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 1:31 pm #
I’m surprised she didn’t take out a warrant on him for assault, Soliel. And I love you “painfully cheery” phrase! Why do I think your hubby and my loving spouse would get along just fine? The telemarketers that are getting past the do-not-call prohibitions by calling themselves “political survey” groups, when you don’t get a recording of all things, are disgustingly painfully cheery, don’t you think?
Dave in MA on 22 May 2012 at 1:40 pm #
Mindy,
I don’t get any calls from the telemarketers, no matter what they call themselves, anymore. We disconnected our land line and only use our cell phones.
HOWEVER, prior to that, I didn’t get many calls because of how I dealt with them.
They’d start asking their questions and I respond by reading newpapers ads to them.
So, which candidate are you planning to vote for in the upcoming election? XYZ product is on sale at ABC store for $x.xx, that sounds like a good bargain.
Ooooook, and which issue is most important to you in the upcoming election? Hey, ABC store has DVDs on sale this week! I’ll have to go look through the bins and see if there’s anything I want to pick up!
Um, sir, are you even talking to me? Did you know you can get a really good bargain on milk at CDEF grocery store this week? No coupon needed!
Eventually they’d either yell at me or hang up. Either way, I never let on I was even hearing them.
If it was a recording that called, and if it waited to record my responses, things got even more wild.
Dave
Jeff in Ann Arbor on 22 May 2012 at 2:37 pm #
When we moved from town to “out in the country” (really, just a couple of miles out with one acre lots, although there is an old barn across the street on the remnants of a farm) 22 years ago, I discovered that there is a deed restriction prohibiting home businesses. As some long time bloggers may remember, I have an at-home French bread bakery, and I was concerned, but the attorney who was helping us assured me that the township wouldn’t get involved. If a neighbor objected, it would be a civil matter, and they’d have to sue.
Well, as it turns out, the neighbors love having someone home during the day keeping an eye on things, and they like the aroma emanating from the house as well. So, no problems.
I love living out here among the wildlife (except for the garden-eating deer), but am thinking that as we retire (soon), I’d like to be back in town within walking distance of downtown with a smaller yard and house to take care of. But my wife doesn’t want to. She likes the privacy and the space. Her criterion is that if she can hear the neighbor’s phone ring when the windows are open, they’re too close.
Bill in Paducah on 22 May 2012 at 2:48 pm #
Mindy, you and John sound like you’re out of a Heinlein novel! (and that’s a compliment.)
Mary in Ohio on 22 May 2012 at 3:08 pm #
I can’t wait until the insurance adjustor gets here to meet with the roofer. Then, I am afraid, I will have some stories to match HOA with HOI (home owners insurance). And yes, I , not the bank, own it.
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 May 2012 at 4:25 pm #
Mindy, my dear, I was being totally facetious. I can tell that you and John are a perfectly lovely couple. However, I still wouldn’t cross y’all. Especially after you self-identified as a witch. I don’t know if you can cast spells, but why take the chance?
Yes, you had me going for a second there with your shirt offer. (You seem to know me too well already.) And yes, based on John’s description of you, it would surely be too small to fit me. But I understand the spirit in which it would be offered, and I appreciate it.
phil in Missoula, MT on 22 May 2012 at 4:37 pm #
I do have to say that there is a reason for HOAs and the lyrics here from a tune by David Wilcox called Eastern Appalachian Roadside Modern Art illustrate the reason:
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/d/david-wilcox/roadside/
Mark in TTown on 22 May 2012 at 4:41 pm #
GR 6, all women can cast spells, don’t you know? Some are better at it than others and some don’t need any kind of extra paraphernalia, either. Mindy sounds like the second kind.
One of the worst things about a HOA, is that it takes on governmental authority with no control over its actions. Most are exempt from any kind of local regulation that might rein in outrageous behavior, and so we get the horror stories. A simple solution would be for the state/local governments to require that no provision of a HOA agreement could be enforceable if in conflict with state/local laws. And that the governing members of the association would not have immunity for acts committed in the name of the association. At one time we lived in a new development that had one, but it was a useless thing that fell apart under the apathy of the neighborhood. Sort of like H.G. Well’s Martian invasion succumbing to simple diseases.
TruckerRon on 22 May 2012 at 5:31 pm #
HOAs are as unconstitutional and horrible as the TSA. Really! And they’ll continue to exceed their legal limits as long as people don’t force their legislators to rein them in.
FWIW, under the 4th Amendment, before law enforcement can frisk you they have to meet established requirements. The TSA doesn’t meet those requirements. (See http://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-04/13-stop-and-frisk.html)
Robin in Fl on 22 May 2012 at 6:43 pm #
TruckerRon
They have probable cause. You are flying, and you do NOT want to be searched. Ergo, you are hiding something/guilty of something and need to be searched. Especially if you are an 85-year-old woman or an infant. Or (gasp) carrying suspicious fluids like breast milk!
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 22 May 2012 at 7:07 pm #
Mark: “. . . it takes on governmental authority with no control over its actions.” Reminds me of Robert Moses, the unelected NYC parks commissioner and eventual head of the Port of New York Authority in the ’30s and ’40s. There was a good PBS series on him in the ’90s, I think and a major book ["Power Broker"?], the author of which was on the PBS series. Name escapes me; do a search.
Back when TIME was looking for the Person of the 20th Century [they picked Einstein I believe], I had nominated Robert Moses. The reason for choosing Einstein was obvious, but, if Einstein had not come up with the physics that led to the Bomb, somebody else would have. Science is like that. It was a particular personality in a particular position of power that led to the destruction of many NYC neighborhoods and eventually to the strangling of American cities and then cities worldwide by networks of highways that disregard the urban landscape and that have largely destroyed workable public transportation. Robert Moses, by the way, never learned to drive.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 22 May 2012 at 7:19 pm #
Robert Caro, 1974 or earlier, “The Power Broker”. I got some of my dates wrong; Moses’ reign extended into the ’60s. If he’d had his way, a multilane freeway across Manhattan would have destroyed my old neighborhood, Greenwich Village. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_Broker
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 7:27 pm #
Comparison to Heinlein, as long as it’s not one of the types on the receiving end of his cynical dagger, is high praise indeed! Thank you!
As for TSA? Well, I recall someone’s theory or law that bureaucracy expands to fit every available space. TSA has mutated in just that manner. My dead spouse was in law enforcement and he keeps going ballistic every time he reads another TSA horror story. The need is there, no doubt, but whatever happened to common sense? Arresting a 4-year-old for hugging her grandmother? Frisking grandmothers…in public? Robin, were it no so frighteningly close to the truth, the absurdity of your “breast milk” comment would be hilarious. Unfortunately it seems that you’re right on the mark and the mark was hardly satirical. It’s pitiful and shameful that we’ve reached this stage.
Not unlike selling guns to Mexican drug cartels, but I won’t open that can of worms.
Mark in TTown on 22 May 2012 at 7:33 pm #
EMB, thank you for that information. Being from Alabama, I had never heard of Robert Moses till you brought him up. No wonder Robert Caro started the long biography of Lyndon Johnson, who was an even bigger power broker.
I had noticed that so-called highway planners never seem to address the real problems of a community. From what Caro points out it begins with the planners’ fascination with numbers instead of the realities of what people need and will support.
Think I’ll keep an eye out for a copy of that book in the library.
sandcastler on 22 May 2012 at 7:42 pm #
Recent news story had three stuffed animals removed from a four year olds carryon by TSA. One animal had a loaded clip, another the firing pin, and the last the weapons frame. Father claimed no knowledge of how this happened. Where do you draw the line in protecting the public’s safety when events like these happen? Having spent fourty plus years in security, there is never a clear answer; you only hope the saves outweigh the losses.
Mark in TTown on 22 May 2012 at 8:37 pm #
I had been looking for this and just found it. Now I want to share.
http://bobbyhorton.com/
Mr. Horton is an outstanding musician who plays 19th century instruments and music. He was one of the contributors to the soundtrack of Ken Burns’ Civil War series for PBS. He has recorded a series of CDs with music of both the Northern and Southern people from the Civil War period, sacred music of the same period, and other music as seen here on his website. I hope some of you will enjoy this. You can listen to samples of the music by clicking on the pictures of his CDs under the music link.
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 8:52 pm #
sandcastler, I think you got my intended point which was: common sense, common sense, common sense. A rare commodity?
I’m off the soap box now. Gearing up for the Bamboo Wars if it doesn’t rain tomorrow.
Lost in A**2 on 22 May 2012 at 8:52 pm #
(For a brief moment, I thought Mindy was a remarried widow.)
sideburns on 22 May 2012 at 9:44 pm #
Let’s also not forget Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy: “In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.”
David in Austin on 22 May 2012 at 10:59 pm #
Lost– I saw it too. I think it was an inadvertent final D. The D and R are adjacent on our lovely QWERTY keyboards.
Mindy on 22 May 2012 at 11:29 pm #
“Dear” and not “dead!” Definitely not dead! I gotta go apologize to the deaR man!
John in Virginia on 23 May 2012 at 12:24 am #
Mindy practically threw me out of bed so she could make certain I was still breathing. Then she strongly “suggested” that I come in here to assure everyone that I am still breathing. I think I am still breathing. Now can I go back to sleep?
Jerry in Fl on 23 May 2012 at 2:00 am #
Just don’t go ballistic on us John. Dave, It had occurred to me that the doc’s could have been correct at first and wrong this time. At first opportunity I will be doing a little consultation. Re: HOA’s. We have the weak unenforceable kind. What I found strange was that the worse violator of our “covenants” also was the person who originally drew them up and her signature was at the bottom. Fortunately for me she was also breaking the law. When she told me (loudly) that I should move into a retirement home I just said ok, I know what to do and I closed the door in her face. $500 in fines later and I had no more problems. She finally sold the home just before foreclosure and a wonderful couple from Iowa lives there now. The power company informed my wife about a week ago that in two years they will cut our trees down and my wife is panicked. Believe me, the power company will do anything to avoid a suit and if you check back with me in two years the trees may be a diffferent shape but they will be there. His boss’s boss’s boss lives around the corner and that man’s boss is a long time family friend. Now, John, you can go back to sleep.
CW in 617 on 23 May 2012 at 3:06 am #
For Russell Way Out There:
Your typo (who hasn’t made a typo or too on this post?) regarding the date of the end of the draft suggests a joke, but I don’t want to appear to be making fun of you or anyone, so I won’t do so without your approval.
BTW, the civilian draft in this country ended in 1973. I even kept my card.
sandcastler on 23 May 2012 at 6:46 am #
Dead John, Dear John, Dear Dead John. John, I would sleep with one eye open as this might be one of those Fraudian (spelling?) slips.
Robin in Fl on 23 May 2012 at 6:57 am #
Today’s pun is wonderful!
Jean from Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 23 May 2012 at 7:45 am #
About a year and a half ago my sister bought a house in a very nice subdivision…with an HOA. I did warn her that they would drive her crazy, but she insisted on living there. She has since admitted she didn’t realize what she was up for. One thing that made her curious was the “secret meetings” they’d have and not tell the rank and file homeowners what they were up to. To find out, she got herself elected to the board. She has since told me that they do absolutely nothing at those meetings. In her words, they are a lot of useless bloody loonies.
I, on the other hand, have no HOA to deal with. Life is good.