Tuesday, September 27, 2011

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN ...






                                                 TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
                                                 And sorry I could not travel both
                                                 And be one traveler, long I stood
                                                 And looked down one as far as I could
                                                 To where it bent in the undergrowth ...

                                                 ~ Robert Frost

Beautiful poem, right? And it brings forth such lovely visions in your mind's eye, right? Uhhhh . . .     Wrong !!! 

What pops into my mind is the subdivision next to mine when I lived in St. Louis. My son and new DIL live there now. It's a great area with the high property taxes to prove it, which only adds salt to the wounds in this completely outrageous situation.

Just a few more sentences, and then I'll let the photos do the talking!

I lived on a pretty tree-lined street, and about three blocks away, the street splits off and goes into another subdivision. That's where I met this guy ... right where the "two roads diverge"!



He was a lot younger then, of course so was I. I was pregnant and out taking walks so I wouldn't gain too much weight. It didn't work all that well ;D 

Long ago in a Galaxy far, far away ... A preggers jQ
 
Anyhow, he was an art teacher on summer break and lived & breathed cycling. I'd never layed eyes on him before, but he decided to be my new best friend, and showed up almost every time I was out for exercise. He kept it up even after I had Paul, and would pull up on some expensive racing bike or other while I was pushing pQ in the stroller.

Being an art teacher, I guess he fancied himself some sort of genius, because he started to 'share' his art with his entire neighborhood in the form of Yard Art. Only NOT in a good way. It was colorful metal and had all sorts of sharp pointed edges that I considered a law suit waiting to happen and outright dangerous. A lot of children lived on his street! At least there was only a little of it, though. This guy's yard art consisted of only a few pieces back in the day.


This is what it looks like now. I saw it with my own eyes when I was in St. Louis for the wedding in May ...


The Front! Yes, of course his neighbors have sued and tried desperately to get the city to make him clean up the mess!

The Back!   Plenty of room to add more 'Art'
The street-side of the house

There's a neighbor on this side that's had his house 'For Sale' forever!!!



"Guys, guys, guys ...  whaddya mean you can't sell your homes? And how is that MY fault?"


"Yes I've heard that nobody on this street can sell their home, but look at how talented I am!"



C'mon now ... I thought everybody loves a sharp-dressed man.

The Inside ... courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

More of the inside ... courtesy of the Riverfront Times

His drawings seem a little chaotic & dare I say ... frenzied! (courtesy of St. Louis Real Estate News)

Last, but certainly not least - The Car. Perfectly normal ...   right? ๏̯͡⊙


Somebody started a FB page for this fellow, but I don't think he/she is exactly a Fan!

I thank the heavens for the fact that living three streets away in a different subdivision has saved me from having to look at that mess or suffer loss of property value.  

In case you're curious about what happened ... not much! He finally got convicted of littering and storing hazardous material, with an order to clean up his yard - he refused, of course! So the judge gave him 20 days in jail, a $1000 fine and six months probation. He has yet to serve a single minute while his case is being appealed.

As for the poor souls who live on his street, not one has been able to sell their home, although some have moved away. Word that he's caused his neighbors terrible financial losses has spread near and far, and I don't know of anybody within 25 miles of his 'Art Gallery' that will even speak to him.

And visitors? The newspapers report nobody ever comes to see this guy ... I mean who would want to look at that mess he's created? The street going past his house is definitely  "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN" !!!














20 comments:

Sewinggranny - Mona said...

Oh dear... I am glad I do not live near there... sorry for those that do. I believe in freedom of speech but this is a bit much.

BijiBijoux said...

Jill, I love your photo when you were preggo :)
Scary art and it's good no one was hurt.

Desert Shine Jewelry said...

Oh my GOODNESS! I can't imagine living near that. There is one similar in a town near us. What can they be thinking?

Lostlemonade said...

All I can say is "wow.....". SMH!

Southern Mom Finds said...

wow,...just wow!! I would HATE to have him as a neighbor, those poor people. No way I would buy a house in eyesight of that!

CreekHiker / HollysFolly said...

This is sad to me... I think his yard looks cool! I grew up in a small town and we had a rather famous artist who hung canvas in his trees and painted used toilets and left them in his yard. He was given some great prize in NYC and part of it was a blooming orchid...that flowered every 100 years... He ate it on stage! I always admired his guts!

I guess I would rather live with a wild and crazy artist than the lawn nazis of Arizona! OY!

magdamagda said...

love the twists and turns of your story! Just when I thought you're going to take me left, you took me right and vice versa:)
"And visitors? The newspapers report nobody ever comes to see this guy ... I mean who would want to look at that mess he's created?" Or maybe they don't have a hour and half as you say...

nangatesdesigns said...

Wow! Not what I expected when I first started reading this! I wonder what will happen when he decides (or needs) to sell his house!! I feel sorry for the others who own homes near this.

Susie Tenzer said...

wow, that's all I can say. My husband rides every Sun. on Wild Horse Creek. I wonder if he's seen this guy, I'll ask.

Crystal said...

Beautiful pregnant photo...I'm not sure what I'd do with a neighbor like that!

Unknown said...

We are all creative people on this team of ours and can appreciate art and freedom of speech.... but this does seem a bit extreme. I could see him setting up a few things to display his creative side, but this is just a bit over the top. And when you are affecting other families financial situation it has crossed a line in my opinion.

On a separate not it was a cool pic of preggo jQ :)

CalliopeCreations said...

Some people go a bit overboard. Yes to freedom of expression but consideration and rationality should be a part of it.

Unknown said...

Wow, the inside of his house is almost as pretty as the outside...

Dee said...

Wow, what a jerk! He needs to be sued by better lawyers ;-)

ElfRenee said...

That is so weird!!

rooee said...

He needs to move out into the desert somewhere...to the back of beyond! Or maybe the north pole?
I think I would have been a little afraid of him showing up on my walks! LOL!

Unknown said...

I came to get your html code on your sidebar but was riveted to your story! What a cooky guy!?! I am all for creativity but not when it effects others in a bad way!

BorneoBatikraft said...

OH MAN that was so good I DIED!!!! best blog post I`ve read today :D :D :D I thought you were blogging about your husband before I read it through! so sorry!!! HILARIOUS though!

BorneoBatikraft said...

and he IS pretty talented :D I surely couldn`t create art that big or colorful or sharp!

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