A VILLAGE IS AN ALTERNATIVE LIFE STYLE - COME SEE

I have lived in the same small village of approximately 150 people, give or take a few dependent on who is burnt out or in jail, and who is not, for almost 27 years. Yes, I moved here willingly as our property is riverfront, which is not easily obtainable just 26 miles from downtown. We basically stole the property from a previous owner who was a Judge in the County and used it for his liaisons’ away from home (this should have told me something).

However, living riverfront allows you some compensation for the lack of intelligence in this overwhelmingly inbred town of people who can not see the forest for the trees. If you do not pay attention to the idiots, which I do manage to do most of the time, you can exist and enjoy your lifestyle here. However, my mate, who comes from another small river town can not do this and so he involves me in activities that I do not care to be involved in, like Village Council.

He is on his yearly fishing trip with the "boys" which is fine by me, but he insisted that I go to Council meeting tonight, which always brings out the worst in me.

To back up, in April we bought an electric golf cart so that we could take Oscar, our labradoddle, to the park and so that he, my husband, could run around and talk to his friends, go to the Post Office, etc as he does not walk. This is another part of small town living as we do not have a postal carrier; you do not pay for a mailbox, thank you USPS for something free, but you have to go to the PO to pick up your mail and get part of the local gossip.

So, to get on with this, the purchase of our golf cart caused Village Council to decide that this "ONE & I MEAN ONLY ONE" golf cart had to somehow be subject to some regulations. Their justification for this is if we are driving the golf cart, whose max speed is maybe 20 MPH, that we just maybe, might, possibly, get hit & injured by someone on one of the village streets and sue the VILLAGE. ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS, THEY HAVE STATUORY IMMUNITY IN OHIO! So what if they settled a couple of lawsuits with another resident who is "sue" happy, that does not mean that they should have settled. Old Council was just paranoid and this is a different time with different Council, but still a Mayor that remembers to far back and does nothing but CYA.

Anyway I went to Council meeting tonight, listened, commented and read the proposed ordinance which would require us to have seat belts (this is a golf cart remember), a windshield with wipers, safety glasses on when we drove, turn signals (what is wrong with a hand signal?) an installed horn -not just a portable horn, front & back lighted license plates - like we are going to out run the Sheriff! Fortunately our neighbor who is both a lawyer and Council member had them table the ordinance until the details are worked out, but this is all a waste of public time and money and if enacted will cost us a couple hundred of dollars to update what is a 10 year old cart - RIDICULOUS I SAY.

We supposedly and I mean supposedly, live in a country where you are responsible for your own actions and own up to them, but they feel they need to take care of us again (AGGHH). This part of village life drives me crazy which is why I only lasted 6 months on Council 20 years ago (small minds).

So me the obstinate one who hates being told what and what not to do came home from the meeting, put the dogs (I am dog sitting for my father at the moment) on the GOLF CART and went for a ride/run for them. Our Sheriff was still in village hall eating so he did not catch me (and I did not have the lights on either) so let them do what they want to do and I will still do what I want to do when the Sheriff is off duty.

I was a child who did not play well with other children, an young adult who always felt on the outside, and now a real adult, I assume, who does not tolerate ignorance or stupidity with any patience.