home owner

I went to a grown up meeting tonight. I guess I go to a grown up meeting every morning since I'm a licensed therapist sitting with a treatment team at a rehab facility. However, this was a different kind of meeting. It was a homeowner's association meeting. They hooked me with the raffle. There was the hope of winning a free year of homeowner's dues which is $350 each January. Alas! I didn't win. They're smart kiddos on that board. They didn't do the raffle until the end and you had to be present to win and the meeting lasted for one hour and forty-five minutes. I almost lost faith in the joy of the raffle, but I pulled through and waited to not hear my name called. Bummer. There were a lot of people present for the meeting (also suckers for the cash) and I learned some interesting things about the neighborhood.

Lesson 1: The adults get most of their pertinent information from the kids. The kids are actually out talking to each other and passing information along. I need to get a kid.

Lesson 2: People get really excited about seemingly small issues and then take out that anger on the volunteers working their butts off for the community.

Lesson 3: "What goes on in the backyard, stays in the backyard." What's going on in the backyard?!?!?!?! I want in.

Lesson 4: Some people are just rude and inconsiderate. Someone stole a man's new American flag after 9/11 and kids were throwing lawn furniture in the pool and washing off their dirt bike clothes in the swim water.

Lesson 5: Money=big turnout of people.

I also heard the following conversation:

President of the association: That was recently posted on the website.

Older gentleman to my left: I guess the world runs on them websites nowadays. (Think deep Southern accent)

P: I'm sorry?

OG: I don't have one of them websites.

P: Oh. Would you like a hard copy?

OG: A what?

P: I'll mail you a paper copy.

OG: Fine. By the way, those kids on the four wheelers were not from our neighborhood.

P: How do you know?

OG: I just know. Them trails been up there for fifty years.

P: But there are four wheeler owners in the neighborhood.

OG: Nope.

P: Ok.

I am an adult. Hooray?