Wrong place to take shelter?

[SeaCat]

My Mobile Home sits along a main road in my town. I have been working hard for the past several months to get people not to push through the Hedge there and cut through my yard to get to their places further inside the park. I have even gone so far as to hang "No Trespassing" signs in the hedge.

Across the street from me is a Mini Mall. In this Mini Mall is a Jewish Community Center. There is no sidewalk along that side of the main road.

Yesterday six members of the Phelps Family protested up the road at another community center. (Have I mentioned how I feel about the Phelps Family?)

This morning they set up in the parking lot to protest the community center across the street from me. Because it was raining they tried to stay under the cover of the walkways but were soon rousted by the owners of the Mini Mall. If they wanted to continue their protest they had to find another spot nearby. The spot they chose was across the street from the Mini Mall, right in front of my place.

As they walked about on the sidewalk holding up their signs the rain started coming down harder. They had forgotten their rain coats and/or umbrellas and were getting wet. They made for the only shelter around which just happened to be the rather large Bahama Shutter on the end of my trailer. (Ten feet wide by twelve feet deep.) I saw them from the shelter of my Patio where I was sitting drinking coffee. I watched as they pushed through the hedge ignoring the signs and congeregated under my shutter. I went inside.

A short time later they were confronted by a rather irate Home Owner, (Me) wearing an old military Poncho and smoking a Cigar. I told them to get the hell out of there and off my property. Now the Phelps may be idiots but they aren't stupid. As you may or may not know several of them are lawyers. They told me I had no legal right to tell them to leave. I just smiled and pointed out the "No Trespassing" signs they had pushed past to get where they were. They wanted to bluster their way into staying but I pulled out the most dangerous weapon known to them, my cell phone.

They went back to the sidewalk and stood there in the downpour for a while looking more like sad sacks than intelligent protestors. It didn't take them long to get tired of this and pack up and leave. (THis might have been helped along by the fact I had turned on the sprinklers to the hedge. The sprinklers are fed by the reclaimed water system and even when it's raining you can smell the sewage stench.)

Cat

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Oh, I say! Well done, that man.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You got to do something all of us have wanted to do, cat-- piss on the Phelps!

 

[Handley_Page]

I suppose you could always have an electric wire threaded through the hedge ?
Or maybe some barbed wire ?

I like the idea of the smelly water, though.

 

[DesertPirate]

The only way it could be better is if you ran real sewage through the sprinklers.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Way to go,Cat.

Although Litizens seldom agree on anything, I think we all agree the Phelps clan is a bunch of world class assholes.

 

[vrosej10]

Do you live in a trailer park? I lived in a caravan park (the aussie equivalent) for six years and in made me extremely terroritorial. You have so little space that any you have your want to keep. The damned owner of the place used to plonk camps right next to our bedroom window (I mean less than three feet) and this made me postal. It's just rude. Good on you. Defend your territory.

 

[Handley_Page]

As one who is completely remote from matters USA, would someone please remind me about the Phelps ?.

Are these the ones who want all soldiers to die or something ?

 

[Vermilion]

Think you're right - found this link on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Think POISON OAK in the hedge, Cat. I did that and it worked. The assholes only came once.

 

[jacks4u]

Or a little fence, about 18 inches high, and painted to blend in to the hedge. But wait, no! You said lawyers? anything that could likely cause injury (even if you do post 'no trespassing') could throw you into court. Remember the McDonalds(tm)McDonalds(tm) coffee suit?

Personally, I think you've made your point with these folks, but sadly, I also think you'll be making it again and again and again, with each new person/group that comes along. Do yourself a favor, put up a fence, as high as your zoning ordinance will allow for that section of your property. something that will not be an eyesore - perhaps white picket? or plant thorny bushes (bougainvillea or similar) in the gaps between the other bushes. That'll keep people out!


Jacks

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Or a little fence, about 18 inches high, and painted to blend in to the hedge. But wait, no! You said lawyers? anything that could likely cause injury (even if you do post 'no trespassing') could throw you into court. Remember the McDonalds(tm)McDonalds(tm) coffee suit?

Personally, I think you've made your point with these folks, but sadly, I also think you'll be making it again and again and again, with each new person/group that comes along. Do yourself a favor, put up a fence, as high as your zoning ordinance will allow for that section of your property. something that will not be an eyesore - perhaps white picket? or plant thorny bushes (bougainvillea or similar) in the gaps between the other bushes. That'll keep people out!


Jacks

The CIA recommends trifoliate orange and has them planted under the windows at their HQ.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Jacks4u; Did you actually read the article you linked to? The maccoffee lawsuit was not trivial in any way.

I like the trifoliate orange bushes, Bear-- even better, especially for a culinist like Cat, would be Thai Kaffer limewith a hundred-and-one uses-- and very long thorns as well, which the wikipedia article doesn't mention but i am nursing a scrape on the back of my hand from picking leaves!

 

[Handley_Page]

Thanks for the info. Phelps is the one who made it to our TV screens a while ago (neither he nor his daughter are permitted entry into the UK).
The guy's a nutter.

As to things with hedges, if you put a fence of some kind, do not forget to warm folk that it is there. It's all down to Elf & Safety,. innit ?

And maybe a sign saying "Private Property: Keep Out"

 

[Boxlicker101]

Jacks4u; Did you actually read the article you linked to? The maccoffee lawsuit was not trivial in any way.

I like the trifoliate orange bushes, Bear-- even better, especially for a culinist like Cat, would be Thai Kaffer limewith a hundred-and-one uses-- and very long thorns as well, which the wikipedia article doesn't mention but i am nursing a scrape on the back of my hand from picking leaves!

The MacDonald's case was not a trivial one but it should have been. The jury should have said something like: "Look, you stupid woman. Coffee is hot. You know it, and you should have enough sense to refrain from handlingl it carelessly and spilling it on yourself."

As for the link: That was to an advertisement placed by tort lawyers. Would you actually trust them to be honest about their source of income?

Cat, I would be VERY careful about planting shrubs or trees, such as the trifoliate oranges, that bear poisonous fruit. I think they would be called an attractive nuisance by the court that awards the damages to the families of the children who get sick from eating them.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Jacks4u; Did you actually read the article you linked to? The maccoffee lawsuit was not trivial in any way.

I like the trifoliate orange bushes, Bear-- even better, especially for a culinist like Cat, would be Thai Kaffer limewith a hundred-and-one uses-- and very long thorns as well, which the wikipedia article doesn't mention but i am nursing a scrape on the back of my hand from picking leaves!

Ah jeez, Stella, I've got a Kaffir Lime in a pot on my front porch. You need some, let me know. I can get all the leaves you can stand without reaching beyond the tips. A regular lemon is plenty thorn, too, but the trifoliate's are more frost resistant--not that that would be a concern for Cat.

 

[SeaCat]

I have been batteling the problem of people cutting through the hedges ever since I moved in here. I had it stopped for a while when I ran several hundred feet of trimmer wire through the hedges. Then the park cut out a section of the wiree to do repairs to a water pump. Other people saw this and started cutting the rest of the wire.

I have put up "No Trespassing" signs and have them stolen.

I have confronted people cutting through the hedge and asked them politely not to cut through my lot. Their usual response is to curse me out. (One guy threatened to sick his Pit Bull on me. I told him to go ahead as I wouldn't mind the free meat. He called the police on me. When the cops showed up I told the cop exactly what had happened and why. He went over to the guy and told him he should keep his dogs away from me as I would eat them.)

I have had people cutting through my lot steal things from me.

I visit the front office and hand over a written complaint every Monday.

I have threatened to put up a fence but have been informed that this is not allowed by the Home Owners Association.

My nest step is to wait until Christmas when I head up to my parents place. My father has found a nice thicket of what we sued to call Cat's Claw, a throned vine that once it takes root grows nicely in the heat. I'll thread that into the hedge and see what happens.

As for the Phelps, I almost wish they had tried to argue with me or threatened me in some manner. That would have become very interesting very quickly.

Cat

 

[Stella_Omega]

The MacDonald's case was not a trivial one but it should have been. The jury should have said something like: "Look, you stupid woman. Coffee is hot. You know it, and you should have enough sense to refrain from handlingl it carelessly and spilling it on yourself."

What they said however, was; "Look, you stupid restaurant. Coffee should never be so hot that it scalds the skin right off of anyone's body, causing them weeks in a hospital bed and skin grafts."

As for the link: That was to an advertisement placed by tort lawyers. Would you actually trust them to be honest about their source of income?

The link is to a straightforward account of a historically verifiable case.

Ah jeez, Stella, I've got a Kaffir Lime in a pot on my front porch. You need some, let me know. I can get all the leaves you can stand without reaching beyond the tips. A regular lemon is plenty thorn, too, but the trifoliate's are more frost resistant--not that that would be a concern for Cat.

I just need to find the time to drive doooown!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

My nest step is to wait until Christmas when I head up to my parents place. My father has found a nice thicket of what we sued to call Cat's Claw, a throned vine that once it takes root grows nicely in the heat. I'll thread that into the hedge and see what happens.

Cat

Yes! The sort of thing the Africans call a 'wait-a-bit bush'. Once you're in it, you'll wait a bit before you try to get out! Heh, heh, heh . . .

 

[TE999]

There are several varieties of Holly (Ilex spp.) with stiff, barbed leaves that present a virtually impenetrable barrier. It's as if you fell into a pincushion brushing against them. Plant them fairly close together and the only thing people can do is jump over. If they can.

 

[Boxlicker101]

What they said however, was; "Look, you stupid restaurant. Coffee should never be so hot that it scalds the skin right off of anyone's body, causing them weeks in a hospital bed and skin grafts."

I know that. The case has come to be known as one of the most asinine jury decisions ever, comparable to the OJ Simpson acquittal.

The link is to a straightforward account of a historically verifiable case.

It does relate to an actual case, but a good part of the link is the opinion of the writer. I believe the award was much reduced on appeal, but there is nothing about that. The link might predate the reduction.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I know that. The case has come to be known as one of the most asinine jury decisions ever, comparable to the OJ Simpson acquittal.

Thanks to the power of MacDonalds PR.

It does relate to an actual case, but a good part of the link is the opinion of the writer. I believe the award was much reduced on appeal, but there is nothing about that. The link might predate the reduction.

You can verify that if you want.

 

[jacks4u]

Jacks4u; Did you actually read the article you linked to? The maccoffee lawsuit was not trivial in any way.

I like the trifoliate orange bushes, Bear-- even better, especially for a culinist like Cat, would be Thai Kaffer limewith a hundred-and-one uses-- and very long thorns as well, which the wikipedia article doesn't mention but i am nursing a scrape on the back of my hand from picking leaves!

Stella,

Absolutely I read that lawsuit. But my point is, lawyers will figure out a way to sue for injury and win. Even if a reasonable person should have known there was a danger.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
I know that. The case has come to be known as one of the most asinine jury decisions ever, comparable to the OJ Simpson acquittal.

Thanks to the power of MacDonalds PR. You can verify that if you want.

It has nothing to do with McDonald's. I remember when I heard about a woman suing McD because she spilled coffee on herself and got burned, I thought it was ridiculous. after all, everybody knows coffee is hot and they have sense enough to avoid spilling it on themselves. I suspect most persons felt the same way. Certainly the article that was linked left that impression.

I will admit that I was mistaken earlier. The advertisement does include the info that the judgement was reduced. It should have been reduced to zero.

 

[Misty_Morning]

Did that cellphone have a camera?

If so, you should have taken photos...and called the police and pressed charges.

ANYTHING to put a thorn in their side.

Might not be too late...check it out.