Undesirables

 According to The American Heritage® Dictionary, undesirables mean:

1.      Not likely to please; objectionable.

2.      Not wanted.

3.      Objectionable or not likely to please.

I think I have a memory like an elephant, because certain things stick in my memory.

I still recall that it was not long after we purchased this land, I was preparing to plant an apple tree. I looked up and there standing at the fence was the adjoining property owner, O’ Denny Boy, just staring at us. I politely walked up the steep hill to see what he wanted. I guess I thought he wanted to be friendly. No, he wasn’t there to be friendly. He was there to be nosy.

He wanted to know what we were doing. Then he wanted to know what kind of dwelling we plan to put on the property. Not long after that meeting, I discovered that he had cut the top off of a cedar tree that is on our land. He lied about it. He said the wind broke it. I have photos showing that the top was cut with a saw.

Needless to say, the troubles began for me soon after these events. I make it a practice not to ask people personal questions. Why? Because their business is none of my business. I expect them to treat me likewise. But unless O’ Denny Boy reads this, he will no doubt never know, on this side of eternity, how much pain his nosiness and meddling has caused me.   

I think the title of this post explains why I have had to suffer such pain after buying this land. They saw us as undesirables. They didn’t want us in their neighborhood. We don’t qualify to live in their neighborhood. We are outsiders. I guess a poor, interracial couple doesn’t qualify to own property in their neighborhood. So…to these elites…my wife and me are undesirables. But they say they are churchgoers. There are many churchgoers, but few real Christians.

You’d think their kind of thinking went out of existence with the last century. It didn’t. It’s still alive and well.   

I think the stress and aggravation that I have had to carry (because of O’ Denny Boy, his neighbor, and the scumbag at the State Garage who told me he would tear out my driveway) has contributed to my health issues. I haven’t been able to get to the Homestead this year. I’m sure its overgrown with weeds and bushes.

I will close with is:

“My philosophy is live and let live: You don’t worry about what somebody’s doing in their holler, as long as they don’t worry about what you’re doing in your holler.” - Thomas Massie.