Tomorrow, we head back to Oceanside for the final eight nights of our 2017 Road Trip.
I can hardly wait to get back to the beach; it’s still warm here in Murrieta. In fact, it was 100 degrees a couple of days this past week. In late October!!
We may be getting out just in time. There is a large fire burning in the hills above this area. Bear Creekers have been given a courtesy heads-up by County Fire, but we’ve not been ordered to, or even recommended to, evacuate our homes…at this time. The fire seems to be heading into the Cleveland National Forest, which is generally west of us. So far, so good. Lot’s of ash falling from the sky, though.
Speaking of crap hitting the fan, the political environment right here in our Bear Creek community is getting downright nasty. There’s a big recall campaign being waged against the Master Home Owners Association Board of Directors.
I hate living in communities covered by HOA’s; this will be our last, I hope. It seems that a lot of people elected to HOA Boards of Directors seem to feel like they are a lot smarter than they really are, forgetting, of course, that the smart folks don’t strive for elected office. Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey…I could name more…didn’t run for office. They let the other schmucks handle that messy stuff.
Speaking of dumb patsies, I’ve served on a few HOA Boards myself. The smart guys stay on the sidelines, throwing darts from behind the bushes. That’s OK, it’s part of the process. But, what really got me annoyed were Board members without principles; I guess they were the politicians. At any rate, suffice it so say that serving the public in this way is a thankless task, particularly when other Board members stick a shiv in your back. It kind of takes the shine off of the noble endeavor.
Our history in Bear Creek, with respect to the Master HOA, is that Board members tend to embark on strange projects of dubious worth to the community and fight battles that they can’t win. Invariably, the HOA gets sued by someone, and it (we) always lose. The past Board or two has really gotten Bear Creek’s proverbial tit in a wringer, and have cost property owners at least a million dollars in legal fees. And, that number is rising.
Bear Creekers have had enough of these jokers and there’s this big recall campaign to replace the entire bunch of idiots and start over. Big meetings are being held, nasty e-mails are flooding digital mailboxes, and neighbors are giving each other the stink eye. It’s gotten ugly. The good news is that the recall ballots will be counted on November 13th and, perhaps, sanity will be restored to this peaceful place.
I hope so, because we don’t want “Recall the H.O.A.” signs in our neighborhood in the Spring, when we intend to put our home up for sale. We have to pretend that this is a great community where everyone loves one another.
Speaking of that, we’ve begun to tidy up our estate here, shining up the 19 years of wear on this nice house of ours. Last week, a handy man replaced some worn baseboard, and repaired some wood areas that Baby had chewed on. Charlie had the wrought-iron fence in our backyard replaced a few months ago and it really looks nice. We’ll continue to spiff up the joint over the Winter and get it ready to show by the end of tax season. Our neighbors, the Pace’s, have their home for sale, and, hopefully, its sale will set a high comp value.
If/when we sell, we’re not sure yet what we’ll do or where we’ll set down roots. We have the luxury of a “tiny house” that we can comfortably live in, at least during the nice months. So, it’s only a question of whether or not we want to have a Winter “nest” somewhere; maybe a modest single-story rental house where we can store our things and retire to in the event of illness or injury. Those steep RV steps are OK now, but…how long will that last? If Charlie or I broke a leg, how could we get up and into our mobile house?
Speaking of stretching out the good life…on Wednesday, we are going to take JayJay, our 11 year-old male Boston Terrier, back to his eye doctor for a re-check. JayJay has cataracts in both eyes, and they’ve been getting worse lately. Both eyes have this opaque look to them:
He can’t catch food treats tossed to him anymore, and he has begun to stumble into things. So, we believe that he’s on the verge of going blind. Charlie and I are both committed to avoiding that. JayJay is a very healthy guy, and, other than the vision issue, would probably last another 3 or 4 years. So, we’re probably going to bite the expensive bullet and have at least one of his bad eyes surgically fixed. We may pop for both of them if the price is right.
Yeah, he’s only a dog. But, he’s part of our family. And, when we adopted him about eight years ago, we committed to him, as he did to us, come rain or shine. He’s been my best buddy around the house for many years, and I’d be sick if he couldn’t see anymore. So, we’re hoping that JayJay will be a good candidate for cataract surgery and that we can afford to do this for him. We want him whole again, like this:
Thank goodness, the other two dogs are doing well. We’ve got Booger on medications for joint soreness (old age!), and she doesn’t seem to hear as well as in years past, but she’s still a pretty nice specimen. Baby is fit as a fiddle, and brings a lot of energy to this Old Folks Home. We’re lucky to have them in our lives.
Well, as long as the fire doesn’t sweep down into Bear Creek tonight, we will pack up some duds and the dogs and drive down to Oceanside tomorrow morning. We’re looking forward to cool ocean breezes and the simpler life, even if it is only for another week or so.
