Defense [clap clap] Defense [clap clap]
This weekend, I decided to take on a project that I’ve been itching to do since we moved in–remove the crappy rusting nasty chain-link fence that provides an arbitrary border between our house and a 4 acre city park. I’ve hated it since day one, and intended to remove it a number of times. Something about the plans for this coming week (Girl Scout banquet, and my birthday party) made me want to get rid of it right away. So, with little planning (which is the way I typically do projects like this) I started cutting the wires that tied the chain link to the posts. I anticipated that the end posts would be buried in concrete, and that the middle posts would be just in the dirt. As the light was fading Saturday night, I sadly discovered that I had not two, but 7 posts in concrete. I convince my self that with the proper application of leverage, that I could save my self a lot of digging. Well, I couldn’t apply the leverage properly, so I had a lot of digging to do.
With 5 posts done (I’ve left one corner and one near some telephone pole guy wires), I’m very pleased with the result–I suddenly have an unobstructed view of the park, and my back yard suddenly feels much bigger.
Excellent moment number one: the chain link was lying down, and the top rail was on the ground, but the posts and gate were still standing. I yelled upstairs to my son with the most exasperated fatherly tone: “Would you please close the back yard gate?!!?” We walks out, notices that the rest of the fence is mostly gone, and still closes the gate.
Excellent moment number two: finding out that I couldn’t pull a post out of the ground using the tow-hitch on my mini-van while my wife snickered lovingly.
Excellent moment number three: watching my kids and some friends seamlessly transition to playing in the park which they’ve rarely done (without specific encouragement) even though the back gate is never secured in any way.
Excellent moment number four: as I’m digging out the final post for today a neighbor friend walks up with his son. As soon as he reaches ear-shot he says “De-fence [clap clap] de-fence [clap clap]“. I laughed out loud. I love being linked to neighbors with a punny sense of humor.
And I love your punny sense of humor!
You kept up the fatherly exasperation too when Nathan (very puzzled) was asking you about the fence and you promptly said “Oh my god… what did you do to the fence?!?”